AMBASSADOR RAISES AEGEAN ISSUES WITH DCHOD AND MFA

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000666 SIPDIS USEUCOM FOR POLAD AMB CANAVAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2019 TAGS: PARM PREL MARR TU SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR RAISES AEGEAN ISSUES WITH DCHOD AND MFA UNDERSECRETARY, TURKEY PRESSES FOR AEGEAN "CODE OF CONDUCT" Classified By: Amb James F. Jeffrey for reasons 1.4 (b, d) Demarches Registered -------------- ¶1. (C) The Ambassador raised Aegean issues during a May 5 meeting with General Hasan Igsiz, Deputy Chief of Turkey's General Staff. He pointed to the successful conduct of Exercise Egemen, an international exercise held in the Aegean in March 2009 which could serve as a strong first step toward safe operations in the Aegean. Turkey and Greece were able to avoid confrontation by sharing information and, to the extent possible, addressing each other's concerns. The Ambassador expressed hope that this could serve as a model for future exercises. Igsiz agreed that Egemen was a success, but said that much of this success was due to the engagement of Turkey's partners in the exercise, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK and the US. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador said that many of Turkey's arguments regarding the status of airspace and territorial waters in the Aegean had merit. But questioning the sovereignty of the two inhabited islands of Agathonisi and Farmakonisi did not serve Turkey well. Overflights by Turkish military aircraft of these two islands worked against Turkey's purposes, the Ambassador argued, giving support to Greek arguments that all of Turkey's objections to Greece's claims in the Aegean should be dismissed. The Ambassador repeatedly pressed Igsiz to stop these overflights and to continue to engage with Greece on issues in the Aegean. Igsiz took the points on board, but neither confirmed that such overflights had been taking place nor agreed to put a stop to such flights. ¶3. (C) Ambassador raised the same issue with MFA Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan on May 7. Apakan appeared a bit embarrassed by our raising the two islands' overflights and said he was looking into that specific allegation. He generally complained about Greece's failure to consult with Turkey using agreed mechanisms and also expressed anger at a Greek court's finding the Turkish pilot guilty in a trial in abesntia for the 2006 collision of Turkish and Greek aircraft resulting in the death of a Greek pilot. The Turks are absolutely sure -- and may well be correct -- that radar tracks and other indicators show that the Greek aircraft struck the Turkish F-16 from behind. The trial thus was nothing more than a kangaroo court. Call For Aegean Code of Conduct -------------- ¶4. (C) We spoke on May 4 with MFA Deputy Director General for Maritime and Aviation Affairs Basat Ozturk. Ozturk was expecting us to contact him as the Greek FM had phoned now-former Minister Babacan and the Greek Ambassador had called on MFA Deputy Undersecretary U/S Haider Berk on May 1. Ozturk said that the Greek DefMin had called Secretary Gates. According to Ozturk, all had complained about low-level flights over islands in the Aegean. Berk and Ozturk had no information about such flights, but pledged to investigate. Ozturk said he would share the results of their investigation with us as soon as they are available. ¶5. (C) Ozturk then gave us a readout of both conversations, which he said took the traditional shape. While the Greeks complained about overflights, the Turks complained about interceptions. Practically every time a Turkish fighter flies over the Aegean, regardless of its track, it is intercepted by a Greek fighter. When the Turkish aircraft is intercepted, it breaks into combat maneuvering, and can at that point no longer be held responsible for whether it overflies mutually-agreed Greek territory. The accusation of low-level flights is different, Ozturk acknowledged, and pledged that the GOT would look into it. According to Ozturk, both Babacan and Berk repeated Turkey's call to agree to an "Aegean Code of Conduct" to regulate military flights. They've made this call before, but this time, Ozturk said, they insisted that agreeing to a code would not prejudice any existing political positions. Ozturk insisted that interceptions are far more dangerous than overflights, since interceptions have the pot ential to turn into dogfights which can, in turn, have unintended - sometimes tragic - consequences. ¶6. (C) Both Babacan and Berk urged that Greece should focus on the positive agenda, rather than consistently harping on the Aegean. Berk and Ozturk will attend on May 7 the latest iteration of the bilateral Turkey - Greece Steering Committee Meeting in Athens. Ozturk said that the Steering Committee covers a wide range of issues, but there is always a PolDir meeting on the margins to talk about the Aegean, and Berk expects such a meeting this time as well. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) The MFA's concern about the island overflights, and General Igsiz's appreciation for all-around cooperation including in the end by the Greeks on "Egemen," are a glimmer of hope in this long-running sad story. We will have more ideas on a way forward in septel. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey Jeffrey