APPARENT MOVEMENT ON JOWZJAN PRT'S SECURITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000221 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, S/SRAP, SCA/A, EUR/RPM E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2020 TAGS: PREL NATO MOPS MARR TU SUBJECT: APPARENT MOVEMENT ON JOWZJAN PRT'S SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS REF: A. ANKARA 119 ¶B. STOCKHOLM 797 Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Anthony Godfrey, Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary: MFA confirmed that a meeting took place among Turkish, Swedish, German and NATO officials on the margins of the February 4-5 informal NATO Defense Ministerial in Istanbul and said that there is now an agreement in principle that Turkey's "civilian PRT" is acceptable to all parties. A MOU on security arrangements drafted by the Turkish military based on the Memorandum of Information between the Turkish PRT at Wardak and RC (East) Command was circulated among the participants for their review. Turkey also undertook to draft a "political document" requested by the Swedes explaining the reasons for the security arrangement in case the issue is raise by the Swedish parliament. Our MFA contact seemed more upbeat about prospects for a resolution on security arrangements for Turkey's second PRT. He said Turkey is close to concluding all necessary internal procedures to authorize the deployment and is aiming to finalize the arrangements with Sweden and Germany by early March so that the PRT can deploy to Jowzjan as soon as possible. He did not rule out the possibility of Turkey deploying its PRT in the absence of an agreement with Sweden and Germany. Gonenli also provided an update on Turkey's ANSF training efforts and signaled Turkey's willingness to do even more. End Summary. Agreement in Principle on Civilian PRT Approach -------------- -- ¶2. (C) MFA Afghanistan Desk Officer Burcin Gonenli told us on February 9 that Turkish, Swedish, German and NATO International Staff officials met on the margins of the informal February 4-5 NATO Defense Ministerial to follow up on their January discussions in Berlin (ref a) regarding security arrangements for the PRT that Turkey has pledged to deploy to Jowzjan in 2010. Gonenli stated that there is now an agreement in principle that Turkey's "civilian PRT" is acceptable and that it should not be considered anything less than a PRT. He considered this progress since the Swedes reportedly expressed doubt about Turkey's civilian PRT approach at the Berlin meeting and had proposed that the Turkish contingent in Jowzjan be designated as a "Provincial Advisory and Reconstruction Team" that would be subordinate to the Swedish PRT -- a proposal the Turks rejected outright in Berlin. ¶3. (C) Turkey made clear to both Sweden and Germany that it would welcome them to continue their security operations in Jowzjan and Sari Pul "as if the Turkish PRT was not there" and pledged that its PRT would not create additional security burdens for either German or Swedish forces. According to Gonenli, in order to reach this agreement in principle, the Turks also told the Swedes at Istanbul that Turkey would not be against Sweden continuing its development work in Jowzjan and Sari Pul as long as the two countries' efforts were deconflicted and that there is clarity on how to engage local officials regarding development projects. Remaining Tasks: Agreement on MOU and "Political Document" -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) The Turkish military circulated in Istanbul a draft MOU on security arrangements -- based on the "Memorandum of Information" concluded between Turkey's Wardak PRT and RC-East Command -- for the parties' review. The MOU covers in extremis support, liaison arrangements, communication and medical support. According to Gonenli, Turkey also undertook at Sweden's request to draft a concise "political document" explaining the rational for the security arrangement. Gonenli said that the document is intended to address possible Swedish parliamentary concerns over such an arrangement. Gonenli said the MFA would like to meet again with the relevant parties by early March to conclude the MOU and finalize the "political document" requested by Sweden; this would enable Turkey to deploy its PRT to Jowzjan by mid-2010. Internal Procedures for PRT Deployment Almost Complete -------------- -------------- ANKARA 00000221 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) Gonenli told us that Turkey's internal procedures for the PRT's deployment is near completion. An MFA official at the department head level has already been selected as the PRT lead. Two key steps remain: a joint decree by the president, prime minister and foreign minister to formally establish the PRT, and a Council of Ministers decree to clarify funding mechanisms for the PRT's operation. Neither are controversial as PM Erdogan, President Gul and FM Davutoglu all have endorsed Turkey's commitment to deploy a second PRT. In fact, there is political pressure for the MFA to move forward quickly with the deployment and Gonenli said he predicted that Turkey will likely conclude its internal procedures without waiting for a final agreement on security arrangements. Gonenli did not rule out the possibility that Turkey would deploy its PRT in the absence of an agreement on security arrangements, although he said no decision has been taken in this regard and that Turkey's strong preference is to have an agreement in place by the time the PRT deploys. Update on Turkey's ISAF Contributions -------------- ¶6. (C) Gonenli also provided us the following updated information regarding Turkey's ISAF contributions as of January 2010: -- Command of RC-Capital with 1753 troops and three utility helicopters that will remain until October 31, 2010; -- A second PRT pledged for Jowzjan province with plans to establish a police training center that will be staffed by a Turkish police training team; -- An additional OMLT to be deployed to Kabul (4 Turkish OMLTs are already deployed in Kabul); -- Training of 6 Afghan National Army (ANA) infantry companies at Turkey's Mountain Commando School in Isparta has begun; -- 6-8 week training will be provided for battalion-size ANA units in Turkey. -- Establishment of the Kabul Military Training Center where battalion-sized ANA units will receive training. The center will be capable of training 600 troops at a time. 27 trainers have deployed in February and the center is planned to become operational in March 2010; -- Expanding the range of training courses in Turkey made available to Afghan National Police officers; -- Commitment to deploy a gendarmerie OMLT as part of the EGF training effort under the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (Turkey is still awaiting EGF nations' agreement for Turkish participation in the mission); Gonenli also indicated Turkey's willingness to deploy Police Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams (POMLTs) to Afghanistan. Requests for Turkey to deploy POLMTs, however, will have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) The MFA appears willing to consider deploying its PRT even in the absence of an agreement with Sweden and Germany, although it is clear that this would not be Ankara's preference. The MFA also seems to be signaling that Turkey may be willing to do still more on training for both ANA and Afghan National Police Forces, including in Afghanistan. With its command of RC-Capital concluding at the end of October 2010, Turkey may be willing to maintain some of its forces in Kabul to serve in a mentoring or support role as the ANA takes on increasing security responsibilities, beginning in Kabul. Turkey also appears to be open to requests for police training teams. We believe targeted requests for additional training contributions that are coordinated with ISAF and made by Afghan authorities over the coming months will be seriously considered by Turkey. Jeffrey "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"