US embassy cable - 04ANKARA532

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 000532 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2013 
TAGS: ECIN, ETRD, IZ, PGOV, PREL, TU 
SUBJECT: TURKISH AND IRAQI OFFICIALS ACHIEVE LITTLE AT 
BORDER TALKS 
 
 
REF: A. 2003 ANKARA 7444 
     B. 2004 ANKARA 112 
 
 
Classified by DCM Robert Deutsch for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY:  In a follow-up to agreements reached in 
Ankara in December 2003 (ref a), Iraqi and Turkish officials 
met in the Turkish border town of Cizre (January 20-22) to 
discuss improving border operations.  However, the results 
were disappointing:  the Turkish side insisted that it could 
only discuss the construction of a second border crossing, so 
the pressing issue of improving the operation of the Habur 
Gate crossing was not addressed.  The delegations visited the 
Habur facilities and the Turkish proposed sites (in Turkey 
and Iraq) for the second crossing.  The Turks forcefully 
tried to persuade the Iraqis to agree to a very detailed 
proposal, but the Iraqi side agreed only to respond to the 
Turkish proposal in time for a meeting in Ankara in March. 
Consul Adana and Embassy Econoff attended the talks. (Text of 
the agreement is included in para 8.)  End Summary. 
 
 
2.  (C) The Turkish government invited Iraqi authorities to 
talks in Cizre, January 20-22, as a follow-up to agreement to 
improve border operations, reached during talks in Ankara in 
December.  That agreement included two principle objectives: 
1) improving the processing of trucks at the Habur Gate 
facility from about 1,300 per day each way to 1,850; and 2) 
construction of a second border crossing to the west of 
Habur.  In the week before the meetings, we repeatedly asked 
MFA for an agenda for the talks, but we were told that an 
agenda would be agreed by the two sides on the first day of 
talks in Cizre.  In fact, the Turkish side specifically 
instructed its delegation that it was only to discuss the 
second border crossing. 
 
 
3.  (C) The Turks opened the talks by insisting that the 
Iraqis approve a detailed Turkish proposal for the 
construction of the second crossing, including specific 
instructions on the location of the crossing and 50 km of new 
road needed in Iraq to connect to the main road to Mosul. 
(This route runs west of Kurdish areas and near a 
Turkmen-populated area.)  The Turks' proposal also included 
an offer to handle the financing of the project, which the 
Turks estimate would cost $80 million.  When the Turks were 
pressed for details, they revealed that the financing would 
come from concessional crude oil sales by Iraq to Turkey. 
 
 
4.  (C) CPA rep in Dohuk reported that the Turkish approach 
had the effect of uniting the two elements on the Iraqi side 
of the table -- the local Kurdish officials and 
representatives of the IGC from Baghdad.  The Iraqis kept 
cool, offering a counter proposal and finally agreeing on a 
much-watered-down text.  The final document (see para 8) 
includes most of the specific demands tabled by the Turks. 
However, the Iraqi-negotiated additions to the text agree 
only to respond to the Turkish proposals, with a target to 
have a draft agreement ready for a bilateral meeting 
scheduled for March in Ankara.  Furthermore, the agreement 
says that financing will require further negotiations. 
 
 
5.  (U) As a final point, the Iraqi side inserted its view 
that development of the second border gate should not detract 
from the commitment to increase traffic at Habur to 1,850 per 
day.  The text included the Turks' response that they were 
not authorized to discuss Habur issues. 
 
 
6.  (U) In the background to the negotiations, operations at 
the Habur Gate facility declined dramatically.  Processing by 
the Turks of southbound traffic declined from 1,500 trucks on 
January 19th, to just 880 on January 21.  The consequences of 
the day's slowdown was evident when the delegations returned 
from Iraq to Cizre:  the line of trucks waiting to enter Iraq 
grew by several kilometers, stretching double-file well 
beyond the town of Silopi. 
 
 
7.  (C) The issues of Habur Gate were discussed frequently on 
the margins of the talks.  Despite assurances in Ankara that 
the modernization of Habur Gate would begin soon (ref b), 
local officials, including the Turkish sub-governor in charge 
of the border operations, knew nothing about the specifics of 
the plan or when it would begin.  Turkish officials confirmed 
that additional Customs personnel had been assigned to Habur 
Gate but had no ideas for how to increase processing to the 
agreed level of 1,850, or how to keep the processing going 
during the construction phase. 
 
 
8.  (U) Begin text of Agreed Minutes of Cizre Meeting: 
Minutes of the Meeting of Regarding the Second Border Gate to 
be Opened Between Turkey and Iraq 
 
 
The Turkish and Iraqi Delegations, the lists of which are 
annexed to this present document, met on 20-22 January, 2004 
in Cizre/Turkey in order to determine the technical details 
of the second border gate to be opened between Turkey and 
Iraq and of connecting road network and the principles of the 
agreement to be concluded between the two countries in 
accordance with the provisions of Agreed Minutes signed on 
November 21, 2003 and of Minutes of Meeting signed on 
December 2, 2003 and after a site survey and partial route 
study in the territories of respective countries, have agreed 
on the following: 
 
 
1.  The second border gate will be located in Ovakoy, in the 
regions ca. 200-300 meters east of Kirkuk-Yumurtalik 
Pipeline, as stipulated in Agreed Minutes signed on November 
21, 2003 and of Minutes of Meeting on December 2, 2003. 
 
 
2.  At the outset of the negotiations, the Turkish side made 
the necessary explanations, after submitting the Project 
Route Proposal, which was marked on the map of 1/50,000, to 
the Iraqi side, for the second border gate and its connecting 
road network within Turkish and Iraqi territories which 
foresees: 
 
 
a,  stretching southwards through a 14 kilometres long, total 
4 lane divided road which will pass parallel to the pipeline 
and which will start on the departing point from the highway 
of Cizre-Silopi, ca. 5 kilometres west of Silopi and ca. 250 
meters east of PS-3 Silopi Pump Station on the 
Kirkuk-Yumurtalik pipeline. 
 
 
b.  crossing Habur Stream through ca. 300 meters long two 
separate bridges 4 lane in the Turkish-Iraqi border region, 
in the vicinity of Ovakoy on the Turkish side and in the 
vicinity of Karavala Village on the Iraqi side. 
 
 
c.  reaching Tigris River on the point ca. 3 kilometers 
northwest of Bajd Brad Village through a divided ca. 10 
kilometers long total 4 lane road which will start in the 
vicinity of Karavala Village on  the Iraqi side and stretch 
parallel to the pipeline on its eastern side and crossing 
Tigris River at the point through two separate bridges 4 lane. 
 
 
d.  connecting Musul-Telgocek highway on the point ca. 2 
kilometers west of Teluwainat Village through a ca. 40 
kilometers long, 4 lane divided road southwards starting from 
these bridges. 
 
 
3.  The Iraqi side requested a period of three weeks in order 
that the Iraqi relevant authorities could examine the Turkish 
Project Route Proposal and this request has been accepted by 
the Turkish side.  After the examinations and evaluations to 
be completed within at most three weeks, the Iraqi side will 
convey, through diplomatic channels, to the Turkish side its 
views regarding the Turkish project proposal and any 
alternative proposal should there be any. 
 
 
4.  The two sides conducted pre-examination and made 
observations on the Turkish side on January 20, 2004 and on 
the Iraqi side at the vicinity of Karavala Village alongside 
the border line and in the region stretching to Derabun 
Village on January 21, 2004 in the context of the Turkish 
project proposal. 
 
 
5.  Following the receipt of the detailed views of the Iraqi 
side regarding the project, the issue will be evaluated as 
soon as possible by the Turkish side, and provided that there 
is a mutual understanding, the both sides will form a 
technical team through diplomatic channels at their earliest 
convenience which will specify the technical standards of the 
project and examine the parts of the project within Iraqi 
territory. 
 
 
Iraqi and Turkish Authorities will take necessary measures 
including those related to security of technical teams to 
facilitate the joint survey in both countries' territories. 
 
 
6.  Following the mutual understanding on project details 
resulting from the joint studies to be conducted by technical 
teams in the Iraqi territory, the text of the agreement will 
be drafted by the delegations of the two countries during 
negotiations to be held in Ankara in the second half of March 
2004. 
7.  The modalities of financing of the project will be 
clarified through the negotiations between the delegations 
from the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade of the Republic of 
Turkey and the appropriate authorities of the Republic of 
Iraq to be held within the context of aforementioned meeting 
in Ankara. 
 
 
8.  The Iraqi side stated that any proposed development of 
this second border gate should not detract from agreed joint 
efforts from the Turkish and Iraqi sides to increase the flow 
of trucks across the current Habour Border Gate bridges to an 
average of 1850 trucks per day in each direction as mentioned 
in article 9 of the Agreed Minutes of December 2, 2003 
meeting in Ankara. 
 
 
The Turkish side stated that it is not authorized concerning 
the works to be done in Habour Gate. 
 
 
Done in Cizre on January 22, 2004 in two originals in 
English, both being equally authentic. 
 
 
End Text. 
 
 
Baghdad minimize considered. 
DEUTSCH