TURKEY'S RESPONSE TO SPECIFIC ASKS FOR AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000503 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR, S/SRAP, SA E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019 TAGS: PREL MOPS NATO AF TU SUBJECT: TURKEY'S RESPONSE TO SPECIFIC ASKS FOR AFGHANISTAN REF: A. STATE 31102 ¶B. ANKARA 479 Classified By: Ambassador James F. Jeffrey, Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador raised with MFA U/S Apakan on April 2 the specific requests for additional Turkish contributions in Afghanistan (ref a). Apakan acknowledged that the request took into account Turkey's strengths and said that his government wants to be as helpful as possible. He said it will take the GOT a few days to review each element of the request. Turkey would prefer that these requests not be discussed publicly during the President's visit to Turkey, but understand that it will come up in official discussions. MFA officials highlighted what Turkey has already announced or will announce at the NATO summit in line with these requests (para. 3),including possibly an additional 1,000 troops by November 2009 to staff RC-Capital and another OMLT. Turkey has already removed 5 out of 7 caveats on its forces, in response to a SACEUR request, and will weigh carefully the request for an additional PRT, a commitment which will require the personal approval of PM Erdogan. MFA officials noted Turkey's financial commitment of 200 million USD over five years pledged at the Paris conference in 2008 and said the request of an additional 250 million dollars over five years for Afghanistan is simply undoable in the current economic climate. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Ambassador raised the specific additional requests for Turkish support in Afghanistan with MFA U/S Apakan on April ¶2. ODC-Turkey Chief delivered the requests to TGS J5 LTG Nusret Tasdeler on April 1, and emboffs met with MFA working level contacts at the NATO and Afghanistan departments on April 1. ¶3. (C) MFA officials reiterated their support for the U.S. approach and acknowledged that the specific requests for Turkey appeared to take into account Turkey's strengths. They said that Turkey had already announced or was actively considering a number of offers in line with the specific requests. These included: a) Resuming command of RC-Capital in November 2009, which would bring the total number of Turkish forces in Afghanistan from 827 to about 1900; b) One additional OMLT in Kabul (which will likely be announced at the NATO summit); c) Sponsorship of the Afghan Defense University or War College. A TGS delegation was in Kabul March 13-19 to discuss details with ISAF and Afghan military authorities and help determine where Turkish contributions would be most useful; d) Transforming the Turkish-run Wardak police training center into a national-level training facility for mid-level police officers, with a focus on management training, to include courses on anti-corruption; e) Continued support of counternarcotics training for Afghan counternarcotics police; f) One aerial refueling tanker and three teams (1 CIMIC, 1 intel, and 1 medical team) to RC-North in support of the Election Support Force (already announced); g) 1.5 million euro contribution to the ANA trust fund and $2 million donated to the helicopter bridging initiative (already announced); h) Gendarmerie training in Afghanistan, possibly in association with the French-proposed European Gendarmerie Force mission (ref b); i) Turkey, in response to a SACEUR request, has removed five out of seven caveats for its forces in Afghanistan. The remaining two caveats prohibit Turkish forces from participating in "counterterrorism operations" and from being deployed beyond their area of responsibility without authorization from the Turkish commander. ADDITIONAL PRT WILL REQUIRE DECISION AT HIGHEST LEVEL -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) MFA working-level officials noted that Turkey's experience in leading the Wardak PRT was useful as "we are not starting from scratch," and there was a good understanding about the requirements of a PRT. They were also quick to note that an additional PRT would be a significant commitment that would require approval at the highest political levels. MFA Afghan Department Head Babur Girgin, who had previously led the Turkish PRT in Wardak and was aware that the two unfilled PRTs are in Dai Kundi and Nimroz, assessed that Nimroz would be the more difficult of the two for Turkey given the security situation may be too difficult for a civilian-led PRT, and Iran's possible political sensitivities. $250 MILLION TOO HIGH OF A FIGURE -------------- ¶5. (C) Noting Turkey's pledge of 200 million dollars over five years committed in Paris in 2008, MFA working level officials said this was already an ambitious contribution that reflected Turkey's most extensive foreign assistance commitment in its history. They also said that the 1.5 million euro pledged by Turkey to the ANA Trust Fund recently was already more than what most Allies have offered. An additional 200 million dollars over five years for the ANA and 50 million dollars for the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund are simply beyond Turkey's means, especially during these hard economic times. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey Jeffrey