PLO ENVOY: ABBAS VISIT INTENDED TO DIFFUSE TENSIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000207 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR EUR/SE AND NEA/IPA E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/08/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV IS TU SUBJECT: PLO ENVOY: ABBAS VISIT INTENDED TO DIFFUSE TENSIONS REF: A. ANKARA 176 ¶B. ANKARA 86 ¶C. JERUSALEM 264 Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady, for reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Palestinian Authority President Abbas's February 6-8 Ankara trip was designed to smooth over growing tensions that resulted from GOT behavior during the Gaza crisis, PLO Ambassador Nabil Maarouf told us February 9. Fatah interpreted PM Erdogan's heated rhetoric and repeated calls to include Hamas in the process as an indirect criticism of Abbas. Turkey's "clear favoritism" has created a rift in the once strong relationship. During his meetings with President Gul, PM Erdogan, and Parliamentary Speaker Toptan, Abbas underscored the need for Turkey to play a constructive role in the Palestinian reconciliation and Middle East peace processes by supporting the Palestinian Authority as the sole leader. GOT officials reportedly expressed frustration that Turkey's contributions to resolving the crisis went unacknowledged and worried that Turkey would be further cut out of the process following comments made at the Abu Dhabi ministerial. Abbas challenged Turkey's reported decision to attend both the Egyptian and Qatari Gaza reconstruction conferences, underscoring that neutrality does not mean pandering to both sides. Abbas came with the message that Turkey must modify its behavior if it wants to be included. Ambassador Maarouf said Egyptian President Mubarak will undoubtedly repeat these themes during his February 11-12 meeting with President Gul in Istanbul. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) On February 9 PLO Ambassador Nabil Maarouf gave us a readout of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abbas's February 6-8 Ankara trip which, he said, was designed to "counter misunderstandings" that occurred between the GOT and the PA during the Gaza crisis (REFS A, B). (NOTE: We believe Fatah-affiliated Maarouf has strong personal ties to Abbas. END NOTE) Maarouf commented that the GOT could have easily spun the situation in a positive direction by highlighting the Palestinian people's right to defend themselves instead of supporting Hamas. He added that PM Erdogan's heated statements infused the tense situation with an unhelpful "extra dose of emotion." Furthermore, Fatah leadership interpreted his pro-Hamas comments as an indirect criticism of Abbas. Maarouf reported Abbas came here as an attempt to prevent the relationship between the PA and GOT from further deteriorating due to Turkey's recently demonstrated "clear favoritism" of Hamas. ¶3. (C) During his meetings with President Gul, PM Erdogan, and Parliamentary Speaker Toptan, Abbas underscored that GOT policy must favor a peace initiative solely under PA leadership. Anything else would put Palestinian reconciliation at risk. GOT officials reportedly reiterated their view that Hamas should be included in the process, but acknowledged that it must play a constructive role. Gul and Erdogan underscored to Abbas that Turkey is not trying to challenge Egypt's lead. However, the GOT feels its efforts to bring Hamas to the table have largely been unacknowledged. The GOT said this was reinforced by the fact that neither Hamas nor Cairo reached out to Ankara after the Israelis agreed to a ceasefire. ¶4. (C) GOT leadership also discussed Arab perceptions, according to Maarouf. Turkish officials reported feeling ill at ease following the Abu Dhabi Arab foreign ministerial and highlighted the statement that non-Arab interference was not welcome. Abbas responded that the comment was directed at Iran, which is pursuing its own personal agenda. ¶5. (C) President Gul told Abbas that Turkey will attend both the Egyptian and Qatari Gaza reconstruction conferences so as to maintain its neutrality. Abbas challenged that decision, Maarouf said. He said that if Turkey truly wanted to be neutral, it would stop trying to please both sides and take an equally critical stance. Anything else would be unconstructive. Maarouf also noted that Gul proposed a "new quartet" to tackle inter-Palestinian reconciliation comprised of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. ¶6. (C) Maarouf commented to us that Turkey is a regional ANKARA 00000207 002 OF 002 power that can best contribute to the MEPP by serving as a facilitator. Turkey can build bridges between Hamas and Fatah. Most importantly, its positive relations with Israel benefits all sides. He opined that because Turkey understands the strategic importance of close Israeli ties in that context, the GOT will work hard post-Gaza to strengthen the bilateral relationship. Maarouf added that he spent a great deal of time during the Gaza crisis trying to make Turkish National Security Advisor Ahmet Davutoglu understand the complexities of the Palestinian situation, with the primary aim of triaging Turkey's relationship with the PA. In conjunction with the Turkish MFA, Maarouf said, he is trying to "find an equilibrium" in Turkish policy. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey Jeffrey