US embassy cable - 05ANKARA5166

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 005166 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PTER, SY, TU, UNGA, SYRIA 
SUBJECT: ISOLATING SYRIA AT THE UN: TURKEY HAS INVITATION 
FOR PM; NO DECISION YET, CONSTRUCTIVE ENGAGEMENT STILL ON 
 
REF: SECSTATE 159137 
 
Classified By: A/DCM James R. Moore, for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) A/DCM and PolCouns delivered reftel demarche to 
Turkish MFA Middle East Director General Oguz Celikkol on 
September 2.  Celikkol, who was already aware of the points 
based on USUN's demarche to the Turkish Mission to the UN, 
acknowledged that PM Erdogan had, indeed, received an 
invitation to meet with Syrian President Asad.  The PM, 
Celikkol said, had not yet made a decision on whether to 
accept the invitation.  (Comment:  In the recent past, PM 
Erdogan's office has made decisions on contact with Asad 
without consulting with MFA, but we made the demarche at the 
political level as well - see para 5, below.  End comment.) 
 
2. (C) Celikkol reviewed Turkey's now-familiar arguments: 
While they understand the USG stance and share our specific 
concern with respect to Syria, Syria is a neighbor and the 
GOT feels a need to engage.  When they engage, Celikkol 
emphasized, Turkish officials lay out all the regional 
concerns and press Syria for improvements.  This applies, he 
added, to all the points raised in the demarche, with a focus 
on stability and democracy in Iraq, as well as Syria's 
attitude toward Israel.  The GOT raised these concerns most 
recently approximately one month ago with Syrian DFM 
Mu'allim, when the discussions focused, per Celikkol, almost 
exclusively on Iraq and the need for Syria to control its 
border with Iraq.  The GOT also pressed the Syrians on the 
importance of Sunnis playing constructive role in the Iraqi 
political process.  For his part, when President Sezer 
traveled to Damascus, he had focused on convincing the 
Syrians to pull out of Lebanon. 
 
3. (C) Celikkol himself raised the issue of Syrian President 
Asad's canceled "vacation" plans to Turkey, an issue he 
described as nearly two years old and currently on hold. 
 
4. (C) With regard to President Asad, Celikkol, a former 
Turkish Ambassador to Damascus, restated that the Turks view 
the Syrian President as a man who is trying to effect reform, 
but who is in somewhat of a straightjacket by the Ba'athist 
hardliners.  The GOT believes their contacts serve to 
strengthen Asad's hand vis-a-vis those hardliners.  It is, 
Celikkol concluded, a balancing act, because when Damascus 
feels too isolated, Iranian influence there increases. 
 
5.  (C) Deputy PolCouns also made reftel points September 2 
to PM Foreign Policy Advisor Ali Sarikaya, emphasizing that 
Syria's behavior runs counter to Turkish regional interests, 
including Turkey's vital interest in a stable, unified Iraq. 
Sarikaya professed to be unaware of any invitation from Asad. 
 He undertook to pass our points to PM Senior Foreign Policy 
Advisor Davutoglu and to PM Erdogan. 
MCELDOWNEY