TURKEY WILL PLEDGE AT PARIS AFGHANISTAN SUPPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000852 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/SE, EUR SCA/A LAUREN FRESE E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2018 TAGS: EAID ECON EFIN KDEM PGOV PREL AF TU SUBJECT: TURKEY WILL PLEDGE AT PARIS AFGHANISTAN SUPPORT CONFERENCE; "ANKARA PROCESS" TRILATERAL DATES PROPOSED REF: SECSTATE 44359 Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, reasons 1.4 b, d ¶1. (C) The GOT expects to make a fresh pledge at the June 12 Paris Support Conference for Afghanistan, MFA Pakistan/Afghanistan Section Head Ilhan Sener told us May 1. He promised to convey reftel points to his superiors; we will continue to monitor Turkey's position in advance of the conference. Sener used the opportunity to reiterate that the Karzai government should help Turkey in this effort, meaning not arrest Dostum. He said MFA is the only GOT ministry actively supporting Afghanistan, implying it will be comparatively harder to pitch increased financial support in light of the pressures on Dostum and Pashtun nationalism perceived to be increasing. ¶2. (C) Turkey pledged $100 million at the January 2006 London Donors' conference; about half of that has been spent, according to Sener. A February 2008 MFA paper on Turkish contributions to security and development in Afghanistan documents these contributions in the areas of security, development, health, education, construction and infrastructure investment, civil and military capacity building, and the activities of its Wardak PRT. We will email separately a copy of this paper to SCA/A. TURKEY-AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN SUMMIT DATES PROPOSED -------------- ¶3. (C) Sener reported that the Turkish side has proposed late May dates for the "Ankara Process" Deputy FM-level Joint Working Group (JWG),to be held in Ankara, and June 30-July 2 for the Heads of State summit, to be held in Istanbul. These dates were transmitted to the Pakistanis and Afghans on April ¶30. MFA U/S Apakan will chair the JWG. The GOT recognizes that domestic political wrangling within the GOP over the reinstatement of judges could further postpone the summit, and that a new Pakistani Foreign Secretary, Salman Bashir, has just been nominated to replace Riaz Mohammed Khan. Sener implied the GOT is eager on the summit, but not pressing, reminding us that it was Pakistani FM Qureshi that publicly announced May for the JWG, during FM Babacan's April 18-19 visit. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON