US embassy cable - 04ANKARA3138

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 003138 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR EB/ESC/TFS (GLASS/SALOOM), IO/PHO, L/EB; TREASURY 
FOR ROSS, WALLWORTH WEISS & ZARATE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2014 
TAGS: EFIN, IZ, PREL, TU, XL 
SUBJECT: IRAQI ASSETS: TURKISH GOVERNMENT CLAIMS NONE EXIST 
 
REF: A. STATE 110075 
     B. STATE 36435 
     C. 03 STATE 346682 
     D. ANKARA 1087 
 
 
Classified by DCM Robert S. Deutsch. Reasons: 1.4(b), (d). 
 
 
1.  (SBU) On 26 May, DCM met with MFA Director General for 
Bilateral Political Affairs (Middle East & Africa) Taksin 
Burcuoglu to press for a response to Refs B & C. Burcuoglu 
replied that "until now Turkey has been unable to find" the 
bank accounts. Burcuoglu further stated that the situation is 
difficult because some banks no longer exist and some were 
privatized, but thatresearch was continuing. 
 
 
2.  (SBU) On 1 June Econoffs met with Akif Ayhan, MFA Head of 
Department for Middle Eastern and African Affairs, to deliver 
Ref A demarche and continue to press for a response to Refs B 
and C. (Since January and February, when Econoffs delivered 
Refs B and C, Ayhan has repeatedly fended off Post's meeting 
requests, on the grounds that he had nothing to report.) In 
the 1 June meeting, Ayhan orally stated, with respect to Refs 
B and C, that "No tangible data have been found which allows 
us to say there are any such Iraqi assets in Turkey," and 
that "nothing affiliated with any of the indicated persons" 
has been found. Ayhan emphasized that this was the official 
GOT response, and that all agencies of the government were 
involved in the research. Ayhan noted, however, that the 
search did not include periods prior to the first Gulf War. 
 
 
3.  (C) In a follow-up telephone call on June 4, Econoff 
asked Ayhan whether GOT could at least confirm the existence 
of the subject accounts. Ayhan refused directly to answer the 
question, repeating his "no data" statement, and refused 
further to specify which agencies conducted the 
investigation. Finally, Ayhan advised that GOT considered 
this matter closed and would not be conducting any additional 
investigations. Comment: Post is troubled by Ayhan's belated 
and formulaic response and inability or unwillingness to 
provide any details as to the nature and results of the 
investigation conducted by GOT (e.g., whether the subject 
accounts in fact exist). Post accordingly intends to elevate 
this issue again. End Comment. 
 
 
4. (SBU) Regarding Ref A, Ayhan stated that he would 
distribute the lists to all relevant GOT agencies for review. 
EDELMAN