US embassy cable - 03ANKARA7977

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 007977 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR AFGHANISTAN COORDINATOR AMBASSADOR TAYLOR, SA, 
AND EUR/SE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2013 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, MOPS, TU, IZ, PTER, ASEC 
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN:  MFA U/S ZIYAL PROPOSES US-TURKISH 
CONSULTATIONS PRIOR TO POTUS-ERDOGAN MEETING 
 
REF: A) KABUL 3455 
 
 
(U) Classified by Deputy Chief of Mission Robert Deutsch. 
Reasons:  1.5 (B and D). 
 
 
1. (U) This is an action request.  See para 3. 
 
 
2. (C) MFA Department Head for South Asian Affairs Ergin 
Soner told us December 27 that U/S Ziyal wished to hold 
formal bilateral consultations on Afghanistan in Ankara prior 
to the POTUS-Erdogan meeting at the end of January.  Ziyal 
was pleased with the initial round of discussions that took 
place in Washington in mid-November, and believed the time 
was right for US and Turkish officials to intensify the 
discussions.  The MFA hoped a wide range of issues could be 
discussed with an eye toward identifying potential areas of 
future cooperation before the POTUS-Erdogan meeting.  Soner 
proposed the week of January 12, and said the MFA hoped that 
Afghanistan Coordinator Ambassador Taylor could lead a 
delegation to Ankara during that timeframe to meet with MFA, 
Turkish General Staff (TGS) and other GOT officials. 
(Earlier, Soner's boss, DDG for South Asian Affairs Evergin, 
had observed that consultations in Ankara would allow 
interagency participation and could help persuade TGS to be 
more forthcoming.)  Soner said the MFA would instruct its 
embassy in Washington to make a similar proposal to USG 
officials there. 
 
 
3. (C) Action request:  The Embassy strongly supports Ziyal's 
proposal to continue formal consultations with the Turks on 
Afghanistan and recommends that the Department explore 
whether Ambassador Taylor is able to lead an inter-agency 
team to Ankara during the week beginning January 12. 
US-Turkish cooperation in Afghanistan has been a continuing 
bright spot in our relationship.  Sustained, high-level 
consultations on Afghanistan -- particularly before POTUS's 
meeting with PM Erdogan -- could be an important component of 
our larger effort to maintain and generate additional Turkish 
support for our Afghanistan policy, including future 
contributions to ISAF and Provisional Reconstruction Teams 
(reftel).  While the US and Turkey recently held 
consultations in Washington, we believe it is important for 
the next round of talks to take place soon and in Ankara. 
Convening talks in Ankara will ensure wider participation 
from the Turkish military (the key GOT entity that has been 
reluctant to take on a larger role in Afghanistan) and allow 
them to hear first-hand our current thinking on Afghanistan. 
EDELMAN