TURKEY SAYS IT CANNOT HOST ISTANBUL EXBS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000736 SIPDIS FOR ISN/ECC FOR WONG AND BALDWIN, EUR/PRA, AND EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2019 TAGS: PREL PARM TU SUBJECT: TURKEY SAYS IT CANNOT HOST ISTANBUL EXBS CONFERENCE IF TAIWAN ATTENDS REF: RICH-BALDWIN MAY 21-22 E-MAILS Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Anthony Godfrey, reasons 1.4 (b)(d) ¶1. (C) On May 21, Elif Ulgen, Head of the MFA,s Department of Arms Control and Disarmament raised concerns about the participation of Taiwan in the 10th Annual Export Control and Related Border Security Conference, to be held in Istanbul on June 25. After conferring with the Department (ref),we pressed back that Taiwan,s involvement should not have come as a surprise. We had forwarded to the MFA (as co-host with the USG) the proposed list of participants March ¶9. We noted that Taiwan would participate not as a government, but as individual export control experts and that Taiwan had participated in previous iterations of the annual conference. ¶2. (C) On May 22, Ulgen contacted us to say that the GOT remained concerned, and noted that President Gul would be traveling to China for a state visit on the same day the conference would open. Late in the evening on May 22, Ulgen again contacted us to inform us that Tomur Bayer, Director General of International Security Affairs (A/S equivalent) decided that if Taiwan was to remain invited, Turkey would be forced withdraw as co-host of the conference. ¶3. (C) Ulgen has invited us to meet to discuss this issue on May 26. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey JEFFREY