TURKEY REPACKAGING PROPOSED SOMALIA CONFERENCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 001849 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV SO TU SUBJECT: TURKEY REPACKAGING PROPOSED SOMALIA CONFERENCE REF: SECSTATE 128084 Classified By: A/POL Counselor Jeremiah Howard for reasons 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (C) During a December 29 conversation with us, MFA Somalia Affairs Department Head Kemalettin Eruygur reaffirmed GOT support for the Djibouti Peace Process (DPP) and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Eruygur insisted Turkey's proposed Somalia reconciliation conference will not compete with the DPP. ¶2. (C) Eruygur said the GOT still hopes to host the conference, but "under the auspices of the UN and the DPP." He added Turkey's embassy in Washington would soon deliver a clarification of Turkish intentions for the conference to the Department. Rather opaquely, he denied Eritrea had been "invited" to the conference: "They are just going to participate." ¶3. (SBU) COMMENT: We will draw on reftel talking points in our future MFA meetings with the goal of guiding the GOT's inclination to play a role in Somalia reconciliation in a constructive direction. JEFFREY "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"