TURKEY NOT READY TO AGREE TO GIVE UP RIGHT TO SEEK

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000073 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/15/2018 TAGS: ENRG ETTC KNNP MNUC PARM TRGY TU SUBJECT: TURKEY NOT READY TO AGREE TO GIVE UP RIGHT TO SEEK ENRICHMENT TECHNOLOGY REF: STATE 3077 Classified By: Amb James F. Jeffrey for reason 1.4 (b, d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Turkey's position against joining consensus on the current draft text of new Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines to restrict Enrichment and Reprocessing Technology is hardening. On January 14, MFA Undersecretary Apakan told the Ambassador that Turkey objects to portions of the current text which would restrict Turkey's future options. Turkey seeks to add language which would make it possible for states in good standing with various international regimes to acquire enrichment technology from current technology holders. The Ambassador pushed back: Turkey's desire to institutionalize an exception goes against the very principle which the new guidelines sought to establish; should we miss this opportunity to establish new guidelines, we may not get another chance. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Ambassador made reftel demarche to MFA Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan on January 14 and pressed hard for Turkey to join consensus on the "clean" ad ref text. Apakan could not agree. He said that while Turkey has no plans at present to seek enrichment technology, it is not now ready to agree to a regime which would in any way restrict its future rights to seek such technology. Turkey seeks to engage with NSG Consultative Group to draft language which would essentially provide an exception to the current ad ref text for states like Turkey (which are in good standing with NPT) so that Turkey would retain the right to approach technology holders at some point in the future in order to obtain enrichment and reprocessing equipment and technology themselves. ¶3. (C) The Ambassador stressed the urgency of the need to create this new regime; in the current energy environment, more states are seeking nuclear power generation. They needed to be able to acquire the ability to attain independence without feeling the need to acquire enrichment technology. The current draft provides several avenues to acquiring this capability. Turkey's push to have an "exception" built in to the guidelines contradicts the main goal of our efforts at the Nuclear Suppliers Group. ¶4. (C) Apakan said that while Turkey wanted to work with the U.S. and, in general, supported USG goals, the problems which this agreement addressed were not current issues for Turkey, and as such were not well understood; it was "difficult to tell what is in our interest" without more time to study the issue. ¶5. (C) Deputy Director General Ahmet Muhtar Gun, who attended the meeting, made the point that Turkey wanted to reserve the right at some point in the future to approach the U.S., its NATO ally, and ask it for help in developing this capability, but again stressed that Turkey has no plans to do so at any time soon. After the meeting, Gun made the point to Pol-Mil Counselor which he thought it inappropriate to make during the meeting with the Ambassador: if the U.S. was willing to make an exception for India, why could it not also find a way to give its NATO ally the right to seek a similar exception at some point in the future? Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Turkey's rigid refusal to accept the emerging consensus is a blow both to this program and to bilateral relations. Given the MFA officials' repeated reference to the need to get TAEK (Turkey's Atomic Energy Commission) on board, Ambassador is seeking an urgent meeting with TAEK Chairman Cakiroglu. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey Jeffrey