US embassy cable - 04ANKARA5713

UNCLAS ANKARA 005713 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PREL, SNAR, TU 
SUBJECT: TURKEY PLANS TO ATTEND PARIS PACT CONSULTATIVE 
GROUP MEETING - OCTOBER 12-13, VIENNA 
 
REF: STATE: 204638 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: The GOT plans to send an Ambassador-level, 
interagency delegation to the Paris Pact consultative meeting 
in Vienna, however, the GOT is not receptive to the idea of 
being the focus of or hosting one of the upcoming 
expert-level meetings.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) Econoff delivered reftel demarche to Murat Ates, Head 
of Department of International Political Organizations at the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on September 27 and further 
discussed the issue on October 4.  According to Ates, the 
GOT's delegation to the Vienna meeting will most likely 
include: Turkey's Ambassador to the UNODC, Mr. Aydin 
Sahinbas; Mr. Murat Ates; Director of the Turkish 
International Academy Against Drugs and Organized Crime 
(TADOC), Mr. Celal Bodur; and the Deputy Director General of 
the Turkish Customs Undersecretariat. 
 
3.  (SBU) Though the GOT will participate in the upcoming 
consultative meeting, Ates said the Turkish Authorities 
prefer not to be a region of focus nor a host for next year's 
cycle of meetings.  Ates laid out three reasons for the GOT's 
resistance: 1) The GOT, in conjunction with the U.S. Drug 
Enforcement Agency (DEA) recently hosted a conference in 
Istanbul which focused on similar topics and hosting another 
such conference in Turkey would seem redundant and 
counter-productive; 2) The GOT believes that those countries 
which host roundtables such as the one UNODC is proposing, 
are usually countries that are failing in their attempts to 
combat drug-trafficking--the GOT does not want to be 
perceived in this way; and 3) From a political perspective, 
the GOT feels strongly that if Turkey were to be the focus of 
an expert-level meeting, Turkey would become a target for 
criticism. 
 
4. (SBU) Comment: Econoff reiterated that the intended 
purpose of the expert-level meeting would be to highlight 
Turkey's best practices and efforts in disrupting trafficking 
routes through the region and participants at the meeting 
would focus on learning from Turkey's successful endeavors in 
combating drug trafficking.  In light of this, Ates told 
Econoff that he would consult with Turkish Authorities again 
and ask if they would consider hosting an expert-level 
meeting.  Ates made it clear, however, that the GOT would not 
be willing to serve as the focus of a meeting.  If the GOT 
agreed to host a meeting, Ates said that it would not be 
possible to hold one this year.  Ates also said that these 
matters would be discussed further at the Vienna consultative 
meeting.  Econoff requested that Ates inform the USG if 
Turkish Authorities changed their minds about hosting or 
about serving as the focus of one of the upcoming 
expert-level meetings.  It may be useful for the U.S. 
delegation to contact the GOT delegation in Vienna before the 
meetings begin. 
EDELMAN