US embassy cable - 04ANKARA4132

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004132 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/25/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, PINS, IZ, TU, EG, IS 
SUBJECT: IRAQ: TURKS TERM JULY 21 CAIRO IRAQ NEIGHBORS 
MEETING "GOOD START;" HIGHLIGHT THEIR OWN HELPFULNESS IN 
DERAILING UNHELPFUL PROPOSALS 
 
REF: CAIRO 5534 
 
Classified By: CDA Robert Deutsch for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
1. (C) Iraq's neighbors are increasingly willing to engage 
with a newly sovereign Iraqi government, Turkish officials 
told us on July 23, though some are still holding back.  MFA 
Deputy Director General for Middle East Safak Gokturk said 
that the tone of the July 21 Cairo meeting of Iraq's 
neighboring FonMins was positive, and that their agreement to 
bring together a similar grouping of interior ministers was a 
good concrete initiative.  Gokturk said that the Turks worked 
hard and successfully to turn off two unhelpful proposals at 
the meeting: one (oddly) to tie the neighbors group to the 
UNSC P5, the other to include negative language on alleged 
Israeli activities in northern Iraq.  Gokturk cited Iranian 
activities in Iraq as a major GOT concern.  The Turks are 
annoyed by Iraqi ForMin Zebari's nonchalance about a map 
reportedly used in schools in northern Iraq showing a greater 
Kurdistan biting off large chunks of Turkish territory. 
Finally, the Turks are shrugging off Iraqi PM Allawi's 
unavailability to visit Ankara in July; PM Erdogan will offer 
another date for the fall.  End summary. 
 
Turkish MFA: Cairo Meeting Positive, Interior Minister 
Initiative a Concrete Step 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
2. (C) On July 23, PolMilCouns and PolMilOff called on MFA 
Deputy Director General for Middle East Safak Gokturk for a 
readout of the July 21 meeting of the FonMins of Iraq and its 
seven neighbors.  Gokturk reported that the tone of the 
meeting was more constructive than previous meetings since 
this was the first such gathering following the handover of 
sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government (IIG).  It was, 
he pronounced, "a good start."  He noted that some ministers 
who had been less willing to engage the Iraqi Governing 
Council were more willing to do so with the IIG, though 
"some" still have misgivings.  Gokturk cited the decision to 
convene a meeting of interior ministers and security 
officials of the neighboring states as a positive, concrete 
outcome.  It became clear during the discussion, he said, 
that Iraq's neighbors were just as concerned about security 
concerns emanating from Iraq as Iraq was about the terrorist 
and other threats coming into the country.  In addition to 
Turkey, he cited Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iran as among the 
most concerned. 
 
Turks Turn Off Proposal to Tie Neighbors Group to P5... 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
3. (C) Gokturk was anxious to highlight for us Turkey's role 
in blocking two unhelpful proposals which came up during the 
meeting.  According to Gokturk, Iraqi ForMin Zebari suggested 
that the neighbors group establish a contact group to work 
with the UNSC P5.  This struck the Turks and others as 
strange, as there are many other groups (the entire UNSC, the 
UNSYG's "Friends of Iraq" grouping, even the OIC) with which 
the neighbors group could so interact.  Indeed, Gokturk found 
this suggestion even more odd since the P5 was so divided on 
OIF in the first place.  He suspected that Zebari was making 
this suggestion in an attempt to phase out the neighbors 
group by making it senseless.  Turkey, he said, spoke up most 
vocally against this idea during the senior officials meeting 
to hash out the declaration text; later the ministers dropped 
the contact group idea altogether.  He added that Amb. 
Brahimi had also opposed Zebari's proposal. 
 
...And Fight Against Negative Language on Israel 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
4. (C) Gokturk reported that Syria and Iran pushed hard for 
language on alleged Israeli activities in northern Iraq, with 
Jordan and host Egypt willing to go along.  According to the 
Turks, Zebari himself opposed language on Israel, saying that 
they were unsubstantiated.  The Turks argued that this 
gathering was the wrong forum for going after Israel, and 
that to single out Israel in the midst of numerous reports 
that other countries are interfering in Iraq would "place the 
burden of proof on the shoulders" of the neighbors group.  In 
the end, the ministers killed the language but allowed the 
Egyptian ForMin to mention the issue at his discretion during 
the Q and A of his closing press conference. 
 
5. (C) Possible Israeli activity and intentions in northern 
Iraq are a concern for the GOT, Gokturk confirmed, but Turkey 
had bilateral channels through which it could address these 
directly with Israel.  Gokturk added that the GOT remains 
most concerned about Iran's intentions in Iraq, citing the 
clear presence of many Iranian operatives there and the 
appointment of a SCIRI leader to the Deputy FonMin post. 
 
Turks Annoyed at Kurdistan Map... 
--------------------------------- 
 
6. (C) Gokturk reported that in his formal statement at the 
gathering, FonMin Gul showed his colleagues a troubling map 
that--he claims--is being used in schools in northern Iraq. 
It shows a greater Kurdistan as a separate political entity, 
an entity which includes large chunks of Turkish territory. 
Zebari reportedly (and disingenuously, for the Turks) 
responded that these were merely "population maps," simply 
showing where there were large pockets of Kurds in the 
region.  If this were the case, the map ought to show large 
chunks of western Turkey all the way to Istanbul, since that 
is where most of Turkey's Kurdish population resides, Gokturk 
added. 
 
...But Take Allawi's Snub in Stride 
----------------------------------- 
 
7. (C) According to Gokturk, PM Erdogan had some time ago 
offered Iraqi PM Allawi a July 26 date to visit Ankara.  The 
Iraqis did not reply until after Allawi had left Baghdad for 
his current barnstorming tour, stating as the reason that the 
PM was going to be elsewhere but without much more 
explanation.  Apparently the Turks have decided to play it 
cool on this issue: Gokturk said that the GOT "will not make 
a big deal" out of the fact that Allawi placed first priority 
on Iraq's Arab neighborhood.  The Turks will offer PM Allawi 
another date in the fall. 
 
8. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
DEUTSCH