TURKEY READY TO RE-ENERGIZE AEGEAN TALKS, BALL IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000057 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2019 TAGS: PREL MOPS GR TU SUBJECT: TURKEY READY TO RE-ENERGIZE AEGEAN TALKS, BALL IN ATHENS' COURT REF: ANKARA 1637 Classified By: Pol-Mil Counselor Anthony Godfrey, Reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary: MFA Deputy Director General Cagatay Erciyes told PolMilCouns on January 8 that Turkey is ready to re-energize Aegean talks with Greece, but is still awaiting a formal response to Erdogan's letter to Papandreou. The MFA wants exploratory talks to resume early in 2010, and said the Greeks have signaled an interest, but have not set a date. Erciyes explained Turkey's break of silence related to NATO's Peacetime Establishment Review was due to concerns about cross-border air connectivity. He said having a single air picture in the Aegean is important to Turkey and would help address tensions over claims of air space violations. The MFA is aware that direct overflights of Greek islands are counterproductive for efforts to improve ties with Greece and has pressed the Turkish military to minimize these maneuvers. Erciyes, however, rejected claims that the Turks are violating an agreement not to conduct exercises during national holidays and maintained that the Greeks conduct far more airspace violations than Turkey. End Summary. Turkey Ready to Talk Aegean -------------- ¶2. (C) MFA Deputy Director General for Maritime Affairs Cagatay Erciyes told us that Turkey remains ready to re-energize Aegean talks, in line with PM Erdogan's letter to Greek PM and FM Papandreou (reftel). He reiterated that Turkey was ready to undertake the following steps to address differences in the Aegean: 1) re-energize exploratory talks on the Aegean; 2) fully implement agreed-to confidence-building measures (CBMs) and explore additional ones; and 3) establish a code of conduct for military flights in the Aegean (without prejudice to the legal/political positions of either side). According to Erciyes, although Greece provided a positive verbal response during FM Davutoglu's meeting with Greek PM and FM Papandreou on the margins of the December OSCE Ministerial in Athens, Ankara has yet to receive a formal reply to Erdogan's letter. Erciyes made clear that the Turks are ready to resume exploratory talks early in 2010, and said that while the Greeks have also signaled an interest, they have yet to set a date to meet. ¶3. (C) Erciyes said that the GoT is feeling more optimistic about bilateral relations with Greece following Papandreou's electoral victory. He said that although there have been 42 rounds of exploratory talks, they did not produce progress during the New Democracy government. Despite the optimism, Erciyes voiced concern about signals from Greece that it plans to appoint retired ambassador George Savvaides as the head of the Greek delegation to the talks. Erciyes noted that the talks had traditionally been held between the MFA permanent undersecretaries for both sides, and said that changing this format may be seen as giving less importance to the talks. Erciyes reiterated the GoT position that Turkey does not rule out any peaceful means to resolve disputes related to the Aegean, including via the International Court of Justice, as long as all issues are addressed and not only the issue of the continental shelf. Military Overflights Counterproductive -------------- ¶4. (C) When asked how Turkish military overflights over Greek islands, including Farmakonisi and Agathonisi, contribute to Turkey's push to improve bilateral relations with Greece, Erciyes (please protect) acknowledged that the MFA views these flights as counterproductive and has been pressing the military to minimize these flights. Erciyes said the MFA was able to persuade the military to suspend the flights in the run-up to the Greek elections, and that although the moratorium had been lifted, the military is keeping these flights to a minimum. He urged us to "check the records," and expressed confidence that the numbers are much lower now than historical norms, and asserted that the Greeks conduct far more air space violations in the Aegean than the Turks. Holiday Flights: Turkey Honoring Its Commitments -------------- --- ANKARA 00000057 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) Noting that the Greek embassy in Ankara had recently raised with him concerns about Turkish military flights in the Aegean during Orthodox Christmas, Erciyes said Turkey is honoring its commitment to suspend military exercises during Greek holidays as it is one of the established confidence building measures (CBM) with Greece. He claimed that the two sides had agreed to suspend military maneuvers requiring Notices to Airmen and Mariners (NOTAMs) during holidays, but did not agree to suspend "normal activities" that would not require NOTAMs. While acknowledging that there had been a "gentlemen's agreement" to suspend all military flights during holidays, Erciyes alleged that the Greeks had violated this verbal agreement first. He said Turkey would be ready to consider formalizing an agreement to suspend all military flights during holidays as a new CBM. Cross Border Connectivity -------------- ¶6. (C) Erciyes said Turkey broke silence on the NATO Peacetime Establishment Detailed Implementation Plans over concerns about insufficient progress toward establishing cross border air connectivity at the NATO CAOC in Larissa, Greece. He stated that Turkey attaches importance to having a complete air picture of the Aegean, and called it a confidence building measure that would help reduce tensions over frequent claims of air space violations: "Having a complete picture will help everybody see who is doing what." Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) MFA officials continue to tell us that Turkey's "zero problems" policy applies to its relationship with Greece, and are hopeful about improving ties with Athens during the Papandreou administration. The Turks appear not only ready, but eager to resume Aegean talks. In Ankara's view, with PM Erdogan's letter to Papandreou, Turkey had taken the first step to improve bilateral relations with Greece and the ball is now in Athens' court to respond. Jeffrey "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey" =======================CABLE ENDS=