US embassy cable - 03ANKARA2145

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 002145 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2013 
TAGS: MOPS, PREL, CY, GR, TU 
SUBJECT: CYPRUS MIL EXERCISES: TURKS NON-COMMITTAL 
 
 
REF: A. NICOSIA 603 
     B. STATE 81500 
 
 
(U) Classified by Pol-Mil Counselor Stuart Brown.  Reasons 
1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
 
1.  (C) Summary: MFA is not yet ready to confirm Embassy 
Nicosia's reporting that Turkey will not formally conduct 
May's Toros I military exercise.  Instead, we heard Turkey's 
traditional policy that it will mirror whatever the Greek 
Cypriots choose to do.  Post will follow up to see if we can 
secure newer information in the wake of our having made the 
demarche.  Turkey is thinking of "exploratory talks" with 
Greece at the U/S level, and FM Gul may engage FM Papandreou 
on April 9 in Belgrade.  In the meantime, Turkey is working 
to influence the EU Accession Treaty's language and FM Gul 
will travel on April 3 to Nicosia for consultations.  End 
Summary. 
 
 
2.  (C) On March 31, polmiloff met with acting MFA Cyprus 
Department Head Barkan Oz and delivered Ref B points.  Oz 
reiterated Turkey's existing position on military exercises: 
the GOT will key what it does off "what the Greek and Greek 
Cypriot side does."  Polmiloff pointed out that the USG has 
heard from the Turkish Cypriots that Toros I will not be 
formally held this spring (Ref A).  Oz claimed he had "no 
official information on this" and indicated that the decision 
lay with the Turkish General Staff.  However, he volunteered 
that Turkey wants to increase the level of confidence on both 
sides of Cyprus and enable a continuation of talks in some 
form.  He said that Turkey would attempt to engage Greece in 
"exploratory talks" at the MFA U/S level on how the two 
Cypriot sides might be brought together.  Oz also said FM Gul 
and FM Papandreou might discuss Cyprus on April 9 in Belgrade 
at the South-East Europe Cooperation Process Summit. 
 
 
3.  (C) Oz said that "Denktash didn't play his cards well in 
The Hague."  He thought that the Turks "would have been in a 
much better position" if Denktash had agreed to hold a 
referendum.  The MFA's perspective is that President 
Papadopoulos would never have agreed to a vote before the 
signing of the accession partnership document on April 16, 
thus leaving the Turkish Cypriots looking like the 
cooperative party.  Instead, Oz said that the GOT was now 
engaged in a lobbying campaign in Brussels with the EU 
Commission and in Ankara with member-state ambassadors. 
Though he seemed pessimistic, he described Turkey's strategy 
as aimed at securing changes to the EU Accession Treaty. 
According to Oz, the treaty's current text "will close the 
door" on a solution.  If the EU were to "to leave the door 
open," The parties would have until May 2004 to keep talking. 
 
 
4.  (C) Polmiloff asked Oz to find out whether the GOT could 
give us a better indication on Toros I.  Post will follow up 
with the MFA Cyprus Department and report if we receive new 
information.  FM Gul is due in Nicosia on April 3 for 
consultations.  MFA may choose to delay confirming Ref A 
until after the visit.  In responding to questions regarding 
the trip, MFA's spokesman said, "It has been announced on 
various occasions that a non-solution is not a solution.  The 
failure of the Annan plan does not mean that efforts have 
been stopped.  Turkey is conducting its own work." 
 
 
PEARSON