TURKEY'S NATO SUMMIT COMMITMENTS FOR AFGHANISTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000949 SIPDIS EUR/SE, EUR/RPM, S/SRAP E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/02/2019 TAGS: PREL MOPS NATO AF TU SUBJECT: TURKEY'S NATO SUMMIT COMMITMENTS FOR AFGHANISTAN LARGELY ON TRACK REF: ANKARA 523 Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Anthony Godfrey, Reasons 1.4 (b,d) Turkey Delivering on Commitments -------------- ¶1. (C) Turkey is on track to meet its NATO summit ISAF commitments (reftel),according to MFA NATO Department Section Head Turker Ari. The four military teams pledged for the Election Support Force, totaling about eighty personnel, will deploy to Afghanistan by mid-July. Plans to reassume command of Kabul Regional Command are reportedly on track, and Turkey's force levels in Kabul will reach between 1600 to 1900 troops by November 1. According to Ari, the three additional Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams (on top of the one already in Kabul) will also be deployed by November. Turkey is also in the process of identifying staff for the Afghan Command Staff College, the National Defense University, and the Kabul Multinational Training Center. Since the Summit, Turkey has also agreed to host in Konya the NATO AWACs fleet in support of the Afghan elections. According to Ari, there is good coordination among the Turkish General Staff, SHAPE, and ISAF. Gendarmerie Deployment Requires Additional Info from NATO -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) With respect to Turkey's participation in the European Gendarmerie Force's (EGF) mission under the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan (NTM-I),Ari said a May 13 EGF interministerial committee agreed to grant Turkey observer's status in EGF and that the exchange of letters to formalize this decision was "in process." Ari noted that although Turkey has taken the political decision to participate in the EGF mission, it was still awaiting clarification from NATO on resource requirements. He said it is important that SHAPE completes work on the Combined Joint Statement of Requirements (CJSOR) and provide this to Allied capitals soon in order to inform Allied nations' decisions on resource allocations. Ari also said NTM-A's "scope of work" is also important in determining the scale of the EGF mission, but noted that he understood the conceptual work for the scope paper is close to being finalized. Second PRT Not Likely Until 2010 -------------- ¶3. (C) While the political decision to deploy an additional PRT has been taken, as FM Davutoglu had informed Ambassador Holbrooke in Trieste, Ari warned that it will take time to staff the civilian-led PRT. The MFA's target is to deploy the PRT before year's end, but due to the need to include officials and experts from ministries not accustomed to overseas deployment, this may require more time: "The bureaucracy is playing catch-up to the political decision." Ari rejected speculation that Turkey may be seeking to partner with another country to form the second PRT, stating, "Current plans envision a stand-alone Turkish PRT, and there has been no discussion about partnering with another country." Bio Note -------------- ¶4. (C) Ari, who served at Turkey's NATO Permanent Mission prior to his current assignment, has been tapped to serve as DCM in Turkey's embassy in Kabul. He and Basat Ozturk, the next Turkish Ambassador to Afghanistan, both have solid background in NATO and are eager to engage with the U.S. They are scheduled to arrive in Kabul in August, most likely after the elections, and will be ready to work closely with AmEmbassy Kabul. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey JEFFREY