US embassy cable - 05ANKARA2031

UNCLAS ANKARA 002031 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECIN, ETRD, TU, PREL 
SUBJECT: TURKEY SUPPORTS US OBSERVER STATUS TO BSEC 
 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified. 
 
1.  (U) In conjunction with the visit of EUR/ACE Special 
Advisor John Markey to the Istanbul headquarters of the Black 
Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) organization, Econoff met 
with MFA BSEC desk officer Ali Sain Akin April 6 to discuss 
the U.S. application for observer status and Turkey's 
objectives for BSEC. 
 
2.  (SBU) Akin "reaffirmed" Turkey's support for U.S. 
observer status and explained that observer applications have 
been blocked by Greece since Turkey vetoed the application of 
Greek Cyprus.  Akin emphasized that Turkey opposes the 
proposal of several BSEC members (Georgia, Moldova, Romania 
and Bulgaria) to take on "hard security" issues, such as 
Transdnistria and Nagorno-Karabakh, because it would paralyze 
the organization and because there is "still no real trust 
among BSEC members."  Akin said Turkey wants BSEC to focus on 
building regional stability through economic development and 
cooperation. 
 
3.  (SBU) However, Akin said Turkey supports efforts to use 
BSEC to address "soft security" issues, such as organized 
crime, terrorism, drug trafficking and human trafficking. 
Admitting that BSEC had few successes in its history, Akin 
listed several BSEC initiatives that Turkey supports: 
customs cooperation; a Black Sea preferential trade 
agreement; improving transportation among the countries, 
including a recent effort to ease visa requirements for truck 
drivers; and mutual assistance for natural disasters. 
Bulgaria is chairing a BSEC working group to prepare an 
action plan for disaster assistance. 
 
4.  (SBU) Noting that it is important to achieve some results 
for BSEC, Akin implied that Russia's opposition under Putin 
had stymied BSEC initiatives --  "Putin is different." 
Still, Akin was hopeful, based on recent expressions of 
support from the Russian government. 
 
5.  (SBU) In Markey's Istanbul meeting, BSEC Secretary 
General Japaridze predicted that observer status for the U.S. 
will be quickly approved, and expressed hope that the U.S. 
would not just be a silent observer but would actively 
contribute to the organization.  He noted the accomplishments 
registered under Greece's chairmanship in recent months, and 
stressed his intent to help BSEC evolve from a meeting forum 
to a project-focused organization.  In addition to economic 
topics, including particularly energy, he pointed to the 
"soft security" topics Akin mentioned as areas where BSEC 
should concentrate.  He suggested a further meeting with U.S. 
representatives when formal action on the observer 
application has been taken, and noted that he and his 
colleagues will soon embark on similar consultations with EU 
officials in Brussels. 
EDELMAN