LEBANON NEEDS ITS FRIENDS - TURKEY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000903 SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO ALL NEAR EAST COLLECTIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER LE TU SUBJECT: LEBANON NEEDS ITS FRIENDS - TURKEY REF: SECSTATE 49259 Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROSS WILSON FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (c) We spoke separately on May 9 with Turkish Presidency/Prime Ministry foreign affairs advisor Ahmet Davutoglu, MFA U/S Apakan and MFA Syria desk officer Cem Ulusoy regarding Lebanon. Drawing on reftel points, we emphasized the need for Turkey to be as fully supportive now as possible of the Lebanese government and also use its influence in Damascus to calm the situation at a critical time. ¶2. (c) Davutoglu and Apakan agreed completely on the urgency of the situation and the need for more effective work in Damascus and Beirut. Davutoglu told Ambassador that Turkey has been deeply engaged with Syrian President Asad and key Lebanese over the past week. He said this has included multiple phone conversations by PM Erdogan and Davutoglu himself with Asad, Lebanese PM Siniora, Parliament Speaker Berri, Saad Hariri, and Siniora advisor Chattah. The trust of the Erdogan's interventions has been to urge calm and steps to reduce tensions. Erdogan had been particularly tough on Asad, who reportedly claimed insufficient influence with Hezbollah, which now takes its order more from Tehran. ¶3. (c) Davutoglu added that Turkey's specific suggestions in Beirut on ways to clam the situation had, unfortunately, not been taken up by Siniora. Nasrallah's recent speech has now made conciliation very difficult. Today's turn of events left Davutoglu very pessimistic and at a loss for how to proceed. He had spoken with the Turkish ambassador in Beirut immediately prior to our conversation with him, and the latter would be re-engaging with the parties there. Davutoglu expressed surprise with what he called a passive stance on the ground in Beirut by such key countries as Saudi Arabia and Egypt. ¶4. (c) Ulusoy repeated the comment by Asad about alleged limits to Syrian influence. He told us that Turkey has taken swift steps to intercept Iranian weapons shipments bound for Lebanon via Syria when presented with accurate and actionable information. He said the MFA plans to release a statement today calling for the cessation of violence and underscoring the importance of dialogue. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON