GREECE/TURKEY: GREECE OBJECTS TO TURKISH MFA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000654

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV PARM TU GR
SUBJECT: GREECE/TURKEY: GREECE OBJECTS TO TURKISH MFA
WEBSITE

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Classified By: A/Political Counselor Jeff Hovenier for 1.4 (b) and (d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) Greek FM Bakoyannis has publicly objected to
statements on the Turkish Foreign Ministry website related to
Greece, terming them "absolutely groundless." The Greek MFA
has called in a Turkish Embassy representative and delivered
a protest note in Ankara. The issue rose to public
consciousness when media widely reported over the May 10 )
11 weekend that the Turkish MFA website included
"provocative" and "offensive" comments related to Greece,
including statements about the Turkish community in Thrace
(the "Turkish Minority of Western Thrace . . . make up the
largest enclave group in the world today,") and the Aegean
disputes (Greece "thirsts for expansion" of its territory),
and a statement that Greece "seeks the destabilization of
Turkey." Privately, MFA officials tell us that the offending
text has been on the Turkish MFA website for some time, and
that the Greek Government had previously made "less public
requests" for the text to be removed or redrafted. End
Summary.

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FM Bakoyannis Criticizes Turkish MFA Website
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2. (U) On May 12, Greek FM Bakoyannis told reporters that
Greece has formally protested statements on the Turkish MFA
website, terming the statements "absolutely groundless," and
adding "we hope that these baseless claims are corrected."
Bakoyannis told reporters that the MFA had summoned a Turkish
Embassy representative to the MFA to seek "clarification" of
these statements, and that the Greek Ambassador in Ankara had
registered a complaint at the Turkish MFA.

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Specifics on the Website
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3. (SBU) The Greek media have widely reported that the
Turkish MFA website (www.mfa.gov. eaty obligations to this community; has sought to
assimilate and when that is not possible expel them; has
pursued policies of discrimination against them; and is
seeking to destroy their "Ottoman/Turkish cultural heritage."
A separate section refers to the community living as "the
largest enclave group in the world." (Comment: The U.S.
government has also registered specific human rights concerns
about the situation of the Turkish minority in Thrace,
including in the most recent annual Human Rights Report,
although in more objective terms. End Comment)

-- A document entitled "Setting The Record Straight On Pontus
Propaganda Against Turkey," which includes a statement that
"the Greek priority target is the destabilization of Turkey,
presumably to be achieved by inciting assumed
micro-nationalist feelings. The aim is to challenge Turkey's
territorial integrity."

-- A document entitled "Background Note on Aegean Dispute"
which lays out the Turkish perspective on ongoing
Turkish/Greek differences over Aegean disputes, including the
status of disputed islands, and sea and air territory. The
primary point appears to be that Turkish policy "is based on
respect for the status quo whereas Greece appears determined
to alter it in its favor." The paper also includes a
statement that the Greek actions during the 1996 Imia/Kardak
crisis "is yet another proof of Greece's thirst for
territorial expansion beyond areas ceded to her by the
Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923 and the Paris Peace Treaty of
1947."

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Working-Level MFA -- Nothing New
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4. (C) We raised the issue with MFA A4 Directorate for
Relations with Turkey Deputy Director Katerina Natsika.
Natsika said that she had been waiting for this story to
break. Although the Turkish MFA website had been recently
"technically upgraded," she said that all of the papers in
question had been available on the previous website as well.
She said that the Greek MFA had registered concerns about the

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Turkish MFA website's content "on several occasions," at "at
various levels," but to no avail. "It remains unchanged,
notwithstanding our various demarches," she added. She
expressed hope that the current public outcry may lead Turkey
to modify some of the documents on the website, but suggested
that the Greek MFA is not expecting this step to be taken.

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COMMENT ) Making It Harder?
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5. (C) Over the past several months, interlocutors at
various levels from the MFA and the Prime Minister's Office
have made clear that the GoG attaches particular importance
to developing and maintaining a closer relationship with PM
Erdogan, President Gul, and FM Babacan, as manifested by the
January 2008 Karamanlis visit to Ankara, and more frequent
contacts at the FM level, most recently last week in
Strasbourg. Although these statements on the Turkish MFA
website are unlikely to pose major obstacles to closer
relations, they don't help. Given Greek political realities
and innate Greek views towards Turkey, FM Bakoyannis had
little choice but to take the steps she did to criticize
publicly the documents and call for their revision. Should
Ankara ignore these calls, the Turkish MFA website is likely
to become a larger and more public part of the Greece/Turkey
bilateral agenda. End Comment.
SPECKHARD