TURKEY SHARES USG'S OSLO PROCESS CONCERNS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000907 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/08/2018 TAGS: MOPS PARM PREL NATO UN TU SUBJECT: TURKEY SHARES USG'S OSLO PROCESS CONCERNS REF: STATE 48124 Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Carl Siebentritt, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) We delivered reftel points to MFA Department Head for Disarmament and Nonproliferation Elif Ulgen on May 8. Ulgen said the GOT shared USG concerns about Article 1 (b) and (c) of the Oslo Process draft text, and agreed with the U.S. position that the workarounds developed for the Ottawa Convention would not be an appropriate model for cluster munitions. ¶2. (C) Ulgen reconfirmed that the GOT will not be a signatory to the Oslo Process. In addition to concerns about the potential impact on Alliance interoperability, Ulgen said the GOT had three additional concerns: -- Although the Turkish military does not use cluster munitions, it maintains them in its inventory as an important element in Turkey's national defense. Ulgen said the Turkish General Staff has indicated that there are no real alternatives to cluster munitions for addressing Turkey's defense requirements. -- None of Turkey's neighbors appear to be interested in becoming signatories; -- Turkey is not in position to make any additional disarmament commitments as it is still focused on meeting its Ottawa Convention obligations to eliminate its stockpile of anti-personnel landmines. ¶3. The GOT plans to attend the May 19 Dublin meeting as an observer, and the delegation will be headed by the Turkish ambassador to Ireland, who will be supported by working level experts from Ulgen's office. Ulgen stated that the GOT continues to view the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) as the most appropriate venue for developing a sensible way forward on cluster munitions that strikes a balance between humanitarian concerns and military requirements, and will intensify its engagement in the CCW. Ulgen confirmed that the GOT will attend the CCW's July experts group meeting. Turkey also strongly supports the NATO tasking for the NATO Military Authorities (NMA) to provide military advice on the impact the Oslo Process would have on NATO operations, and will be very interested in NMA input. ¶4. (C) Ulgen took on board the need to share GOT concerns about the Oslo Process with Allies since, if adopted, the current text would have an impact on overall Alliance interoperability, irrespective of whether individual Allies become signatories to the Process. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey WILSON