US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI783

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 000783 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SEE, NEA/NGA AND NEA/ARP 
NSC FOR ZKHALILZAD, RHANSON 
CENTCOM FOR POLAD AMBASSADOR LITT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2013 
TAGS: PREL, IZ, TC 
SUBJECT: (C) UAE WILL FULFILL TURKISH DEFENSE 
FUND OBLIGATIONS 
 
REF: A) STATE 38531 (notal); B) ABU DHABI 236 
     C) 02 ABU DHABI 6776; D) 02 STATE 248431 
     E) 02 ANKARA 8791 
 
1. (U) Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba 
for reasons 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
2. (C) MFA Minstate Hamdan Bin Zayid Al-Nahyan 
informed the Ambassador on 2/17 that the UAEG has 
agreed to fulfill its outstanding obligations to the 
Turkish government pursuant to the Turkish Defense 
Fund.  Following the joint demarche presented by the 
Ambassador and her Turkish counterpart on 1/14 (ref 
B), Hamdan met with the Ambassador privately on 1/19 
to convey that the UAE, i.e. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince 
(and keeper of the purse strings) Khalifa Bin Zayid, 
and UAE COS Shiekh Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ) had 
consulted and decided not to fulfill this obligation 
due to current cash flow constraints.  The 
Ambassador urged Hamdan to reconsider, noting that 
while Turkish support for a military option in Iraq 
did not hinge on UAE contributions to the TDF, the 
much needed financial support would help Turkey 
offset any economic damage.  The Ambassador 
appreciated UAEG financial constraints and thus 
suggested to Hamdan that consideration be given to 
payment of the amount owed in several tranches. 
Hamdan cottoned to the idea immediately and promised 
to make another pass at Crown Prince Khalifa. 
 
3. (C) Upon receipt of ref A oral message from the 
Secretary, the Ambassador, upon her return from the 
 
SIPDIS 
NEA COM conference, raised the TDF issue with Hamdan 
in a 2/15 meeting.  Hamdan, who had himself just 
returned to the UAE after a two week sojourn in 
Europe, promised to take it to Khalifa and MBZ the 
next day.  In his 2/17 phone call to the Ambassador, 
Hamdan said Khalifa had liked the Ambassador's 
suggestion and that the UAE was prepared to pay $250 
million in installments toward the TDF, not the $350 
million claimed by Ankara.  According to UAEG 
records and correspondence between President Zayid 
and then-President Bush, Hamdan elucidated, the UAEG 
paid the Turks an initial $100 million (in November 
1990), followed by a $100 million payment in 1992 
and $50 million in 1994.  In his 1/19 meeting with 
the Ambassador, Hamdan had noted that following the 
Gulf War, the UAE had given $500 million each to the 
Brits and the French. 
 
4. (C) Comment:  This is a clear success story for 
U.S.-UAE relations and yet another signal of how 
forward leaning the Emiratis have been on Iraq- 
related issues, despite the evident public 
opposition here to an armed conflict.  Further, in 
spite of the fact that they feel stretched 
financially (see Abu Dhabi 773 on UAE's domestic 
budgetary woes) and have a number of other 
international obligations, it is noteworthy that 
they have agreed to fulfill this 12 year old pledge. 
End Comment. 
 
WAHBA