US embassy cable - 04ANKARA4227

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 004227 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/28/2014 
TAGS: EAID, PREL, SU, TU 
SUBJECT: SUDANESE FM ISMAIL VISITS TURKEY 
 
Classified By: A/DCM James Moore, E.O. 12958, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Sudanese FM Mustafa Osman Ismail visited 
Ankara July 26-27, meeting with Turkish FM Gul and Parliament 
Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Dulger.  One MFA official 
speculates the trip was designed to influence Turkey, the 
current OIC SYG, but Ismail reportedly did not directly ask 
Turkey in its OIC capacity to weigh in with the UNSC and 
oppose sanctions.  FM Gul announced that Turkey will send 
humanitarian aid to the Darfur region.  According to Turkish 
officials, Gul and Dulger pressed FM Ismail to improve the 
situation in the Darfur region, particularly on the security 
side.  Ismail also used the trip to press for improved 
bilateral economic ties.  While EU-aspirant Turkey will pay 
close attention the EU stance on Darfur, it will also be 
influenced by the positions of other majority-Muslim 
countries.  End Summary. 
 
Turks Raise Darfur 
 
2.  (C) Prior to Ismail's visit, we sent the MFA Africa and 
East Asia Department DDG Isik suggested talking points drawn 
from Secretary Powell's July 22 joint press conference with 
SYG Annan; Department DDG Isik and MFA Foreign Affairs 
Committee Adviser Ulukan both said the MFA incorporated the 
points into its papers for the visit.  Isik claimed that Gul 
immediately raised concerns about the need for improved 
security in the Darfur region and pushed Ismail on the need 
for the GOS to disarm the janjaweed.  Ismail told Gul this 
would take time.  Gul informed Ismail that the GOT will send 
humanitarian aid in the form of food, medicine and tents to 
the region.  Press accounts asserted the supplies will reach 
the region within days.  MFA officials have no information on 
the estimated value of the proposed GOT assistance. 
 
3.  (C) With Parliament Foreign Affairs Chair Dulger, Ismail 
defended the GOS's efforts to date in the Darfur by 
presenting Dulger with the OIC's June report on the Darfur 
situation and the July 3 UN/GOS Joint Communiqu.  MFA 
Adviser Ulukan, who was present in the meeting, said he 
replied that it was in Sudan's interest to control the 
militias and resolve the Darfur situation quickly.  Turkey's 
Ambassador to Sudan, also present, reminded Ismail the EU is 
considering sanctions.  Ulukan expressed confidence that 
Ismail "got the message." 
 
Ismail Presses for Stronger Economic Ties 
 
4.  (U) Ismail used the trip to press for improved bilateral 
economic ties.  (According to Ulukan, bilateral trade volume 
was $67 million last year, of which $60 million were Turkish 
exports to Sudan.)  In remarks to the press after the 
meeting, Gul said the two countries will aim to "refresh" 
bilateral economic relations.  Ismail also met with State 
Minister Tuzmen at the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat, with 
Turkish Ex-Im Bank officials, and with the President of the 
Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges. 
 
Turkey's Role as OIC SYG 
 
5,  (C) According to DDG Isik and Adviser Ulukan, the visit 
came on very short notice at Ismail's initiative.  Ulukan 
speculated that Ismail sought to influence Turkey in its role 
as OIC SYG.  However, both Isik and Ulukan claimed that FM 
Ismail did not ask Turkey, as OIC SYG, to weigh in with the 
UNSC and oppose sanctions against the GOS, although Ismail 
did tell Dulger that Turkey should use its role as OIC SYG to 
press for a "solution" in the UNSC. 
 
6.  (C) After his meetings, Ismail told the press that OIC 
Troika Turkey, Iran and Yemen had asked the UNSC not to 
impose sanctions.  MFA officials denied this; Ismail's 
statement appears to be a misleading interpretation of a July 
15 non-paper the OIC gave to the UNSC.  DDG Isik declined to 
predict what Turkey will do if the situation in Darfur did 
not improve; Ulukan expressed confidence that EU-aspirant 
Turkey will pay close attention to the EU's position on 
Darfur.  (Comment:  However, Turkey will also be influenced 
by the positions of majority-Muslim countries.) 
DEUTSCH