U/S BURNS FEBRUARY 18 MEETING WITH TGS DEPUTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000305 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2020 TAGS: PREL PARM PGOV TU SUBJECT: U/S BURNS FEBRUARY 18 MEETING WITH TGS DEPUTY CHIEF GEN GUNER Classified By: Ambassador James F. Jeffrey for reason 1.4 (b, d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) In a February 18 meeting with Undersecretary Burns, Turkey's Deputy Chief of Staff GEN Guner described U.S. Turkey relations as dynamic and positive. Guner expressed satisfaction with U.S. - Turkey cooperation against the terrorist PKK, giving great credit to the recent visit to Ankara of USF-I Commanding General Odierno. On Syria, Guner said that while military engagement was increasing, relations would not improve at the expense of Turkey's relationship with Israel. Burns urged Turkey not to be subtle with the Syrians; Syria should focus on its long-term relations with Iraq and take steps to stop the flow of foreign fighters to Iraq. Guner proudly recounted new steps Turkey was taking to support change in Afghanistan, particularly on training Afghan security forces. Burns expressed appreciation, but asked Turkey to do more. On Missile Defense, Guner said that once either NATO or Turkey's civilian leaders gave the U.S. Phased Adaptive Approach its political blessing, Turkey's military would be ready to engage. End Summary. Bilateral Relationship -------------- ¶2. (C) On February 18, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns met with the Deputy Chief of Turkey's General Staff (TGS) Aslan Guner. With Burns were Ambassador Jeffrey, EUR DAS Tina Kaidanow and NSC Director Bridget Brink. MG Tahir Bekiroglu, Chief of Strategic Planning in the TGS J5, accompanied Guner. Guner was engaged and well briefed, and described for Burns the intense level of U.S. - Turkey engagement since PM Erdogan's visit to Washington in December. Burns made the point that the steady stream of senior visitors was a demonstration of the strength of our bilateral ties; the U.S. sought to continue to invest in this relationship. Syria -------------- ¶3. (C) Burns, who had arrived in Ankara from Damascus, told Guner that he had traveled to Syria to see if there was a basis for greater engagement. Describing his meeting with Syria's President, he said that Syria needed to consider its long-term relationship with Iraq and take steps to protect that relationship, particularly to stop the flow of foreign fighters through Syria to Iraq. Syria must also stop the flow of modern weapons to Hizbollah in southern Lebanon. Guner told Burns that he had met with his Syrian counterpart; it was Turkey's view that Syria wanted to develop, but the mindset of its leaders was slow to change. Turkey had agreed to exchange visits with Syrian military leaders and to conduct company-level exercises near the common border. Guner said Turkey shared the U.S. concern regarding Syria's proliferation and that he had made this point sharply to his Syrian counterpart. Guner said that he made a point of telling the Syrians that the improvement in bilateral ties would not come at the expense of relations with Israel; Turkey would continue a high level of military engagement with Israel. ¶4. (C) Burns stressed the importance of strong Turkey - Israel relations for the broader region. Guner said that a senior-level military trip to Israel had been delayed, but that TGS Chief GEN Basbug had met with his Israeli counterpart on the margins of a NATO CHOD meeting in Brussels. Guner said that Israel had been invited to attend a counterterrorism symposium which Turkey would host in March. Afghanistan -------------- ¶5. (C) Guner recounted Turkey's latest contributions to coalition efforts in Afghanistan, particularly in training Afghan security forces. Guner said that Turkey would train battalion-sized units at its training center in Afghanistan and would, within the next weeks, step up the size of the units training in Turkey. The General Staff supported the government's decision to train Afghan police and would soon take responsibility to support Afghanistan's War College. Guner said that, so far, the Government had provided full financial support for each of the TGS initiatives. Burns thanked Turkey for its contributions and urged Turkey to do more so that the Alliance could take advantage of Afghan receptiveness to Turkey's outreach. Pakistan (and a little on India) -------------- ANKARA 00000305 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) Guner recounted impressions that TGS Chief GEN Basbug had gotten while in Pakistan. It seemed to Turkey that there was a new level of popular support for military action against the Taliban; Burns agreed. Guner said that Pakistan's leaders had told Basbug that it was hesitant to commit still more forces to the fight against the Taliban for fear that it would weaken the garrison at the Line of Control; Pakistan sought a "guarantee" brokered by the U.S. that India would not take advantage. U/S Burns said that the U.S. would continue to encourage - quietly - dialogue between India and Pakistan. Missile Defense -------------- ¶7. (C) On Missile Defense, Guner said that Turkey's military had no outstanding questions; its plans were complete and were ready to move ahead once the political signal to do so had been received from either NATO or from Turkey's civilian leaders. From a purely military standpoint, Guner said, TGS agreement to host missile defense assets made sense: if you are willing to offer Turkey a new capability, Turkey's military would welcome it. Greece - Turkey -------------- ¶8. (C) Recalling the issues of overflights in the Aegean, the Ambassador asked if there had been any recent developments in Turkey - Greece relations. Guner said that the two sides continued to develop confidence-building measures, but the radar coverage issue remained problematic. The problem of connectivity could not be solved at NATO's working level, so it had been elevated to the North Atlantic Council at NATO Headquarters. Returning to the issue of CBMs with Greece, Guner was optimistic about the prospect of joint training of disaster relief units. Jeffrey "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"