TURKISH PERMREP APAKAN PAYS INTRODUCTORY CALL ON

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000947 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV UNSC TU SUBJECT: TURKISH PERMREP APAKAN PAYS INTRODUCTORY CALL ON AMBASSADOR RICE ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. During an October 15 courtesy meeting, Turkish Permrep Ertugul Apakan invited Ambassador Rice to visit Turkey. He said a workshop/retreat on peacekeeping and peacebuilding, which Turkey was considering hosting during the summer of 2010, might be a good opportunity. Apakan thought Turkey and the U.S. shared similar views on a wide range of issues, but acknowledged a divergence on Gaza. Ambassador Rice said that Turkey could be helpful on Somalia by urging Qatar, which was funding insurgents through Eritrea, to play a more helpful role. Apakan said a U.S. envoy for the Cyprus talks would be required in the near future in order to bring the reunification talks to a conclusion. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Newly arrived Turkish Permrep Ertugul Apakan held a brief courtesy meeting with Ambassador Rice on the margins of a General Assembly meeting on October 15. Apakan invited Rice to visit Turkey, noting that Rice intended to travel to the Middle East in the near future. He said another opportunity for Rice to visit might be a workshop/retreat on peacekeeping and peacebuilding during the summer of 2010, similar to a conference hosted by Austria in Alspach, which Turkey was considering hosting. Ambassador Rice thanked Apakan for the offer, and said that while she would not be able to stop in Turkey during her upcoming trip to the Middle East, she would consider other opportunities. Apakan said he thought Turkey and the U.S. shared similar views on a wide range of issues, including on Iraq, Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Kosovo and Bosnia. He acknowledged that there was a divergence of views on Gaza and how to handle the Goldstone report. ¶3. (SBU) Apakan said that Turkey wanted to be helpful in Somalia and agreed with the U.S. approach of continuing broad-based support for the Transitional Federal Government. Ambassador Rice expressed concerns about Qatar's role in funding insurgents through Eritrea who were operating in Somalia, and suggested that Turkey could be helpful by weighing in with Qatar. ¶4. (SBU) Apakan said he thought a U.S. envoy would be needed in the near future to bring the Cyprus talks to a conclusion. He noted that a U.S. envoy had been necessary to work with the UN in 2004, and said achieving broad international support for a settlement would require strong U.S. involvement. Rice