TURKEY/IAEA: TURKEY WILL EXPRESS "NUANCED"

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 002057 SIPDIS EUR/SE, NEA/IR, ISN/RA, IO/T E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/25/2018 TAGS: KNNP MNUC PARM IAEA IR TRGY TU SUBJECT: TURKEY/IAEA: TURKEY WILL EXPRESS "NUANCED" CONCERNS ABOUT IRAN AT BOG MEETING REF: STATE 123074 Classified By: CDA Doug Silliman, Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) CDA delivered reftel demarche to MFA International Security and Disarmament DG Tomur Bayar on November 25. Drawing on reftel background, CDA stressed that, as a neighbor of both Iran and Syria, a member of the IAEA Board of Governors (BoG) and soon-to-be member of the UN Security Council, it is especially important for Turkey to make its concerns known regarding Iran and Syria's nuclear programs now. CDA urged Turkey to support an IAEA resolution on the Syrian nuclear program and oppose Syria's request for IAEA support in conducting site surveys for a nuclear power plant. 2.(C) DG Bayar took on board US points and said Turkey recognizes its responsibilities as a member of the IAEA BoG. He said he was surprised by the sharp tone of the initial IAEA report on Syria and expressed concern that this would become a "distraction" to the international community's primary concern: Iran. Bayar expected the Turkish representative at the BoG to express GOT concerns about Iran's nuclear program, but noted that in the interest of preserving Turkey's ability to remain a credible channel for communications between the international community and Iran, the statement will likely be more "nuanced." Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey SILLIMAN