US embassy cable - 03ANKARA2259

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002259 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR EUR, NEA 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2013 
TAGS: MARR, MOPS, PREL, TU, IZ, SY 
SUBJECT: IRANIAN FM KHARRAZI'S VISIT TO ANKARA:  GOT/GOI 
VIEWS ON IRAQ CONVERGE 
 
REF: ANKARA 2250 
 
 
(U) Classified by Ambassador W. Robert Pearson.  Reasons 1.5 
B and D. 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) MFA Deputy U/S Tuygan told the Ambassador late April 7 
Iranian FM Kharrazi,s April 6 visit to Ankara revealed a 
congruence of views between the GOT and GOI on Iraq. 
Kharrazi reportedly requested Gul,s support for 
re-establishing Turkish-Iranian-Syrian trilateral 
consultations with Syria, but Gul said Ankara preferred to 
continue discussions with its neighbors on a bilateral basis. 
 Gul and Kharrazi stressed the importance of maintaining a 
unified Iraq and the unacceptability of an independent 
Kurdish state.  If there were a refugee crisis with Turkey 
closing its borders, the Iranians would want to act 
similarly.  But Turkey does not believe Iran would intervene 
if it reacted to an incident involving PKK/KADEK. Tuygan 
attempted to dismiss the notion that high-level discussions 
with Iran and Syria are a result of differences between 
Washington and Ankara over Iraq, saying it was normal for 
neighbors to discuss with each other issues of mutual 
concern.  End summary. 
 
 
2. (C) During his April 7 meeting on Northern Iraq 
coordination modalities (reftel), the Ambassador solicited 
from MFA Deputy U/S Tuygan a readout of Iranian FM 
Kharrazi,s April 6 visit to Ankara.  Tuygan said the visit 
followed FM,s Gul visit to Iran as Prime Minister.  PM 
Erdogan also met with the Iranian FM, but President Sezer was 
unavailable. 
 
 
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GOT: NO TO TRILATERAL CONSULTATIONS 
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3. (C) Tuygan averred that by and large, the Turks did not 
hear &anything unreasonable8 from the Iranians during the 
visit.  Given pursuit of OEF the Iranians were interested in 
re-establishing trilateral consultations on northern Iraq 
with the Turks and Syrians, a process Tuygan said had started 
in the mid-90,s under the leadership of then FM Cem but had 
ceased.  FM Gul reportedly told Kharrazi that for the moment, 
Turkey preferred to continue discussions with the Iranians 
and Syrians on a bilateral basis. 
 
 
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GOT/GOI VIEWS ON IRAQ CONVERGE 
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4. (C) Tuygan said that Gul and Kharrazi talked about a range 
of bilateral issues, including Iraq.  The views of Turkey and 
Iran are congruent in many respects.  Both countries had 
wished the Iraqi crisis could have been resolved without 
force, but agreed this had not been possible.  Turkey and 
Iran hope for a prompt end to hostilities in Iraq, and both 
expressed hope that reconstruction efforts would begin soon. 
Turkey and Iran agree on the importance of maintaining 
Iraq,s territorial integrity, and believe the establishment 
of an independent Kurdish state would be unacceptable. 
Tuygan added Gul and Kharrazi agreed the establishment of an 
independent Kurdish state would lead to a &new Middle East 
crisis,8 including the disintegration of Iraq. 
 
 
5. (C) Tuygan said Iran shares Turkey,s concerns regarding 
massive movements of Iraqi refugees.  Like Ankara, Tehran 
would prefer to close its border and address the refugee 
issue on the Iraqi side of the Iraqi-Iranian border.  Tuygan 
noted Kharrazi had stressed Iran,s cooperating with ICRC, 
UNHCR and other UN organizations. 
 
 
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IRAN UNLIKELY TO INTERVENE IN IRAQ 
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6. (C) The Ambassador asked Tuygan about the GOI,s current 
position on PKK/KADEK.  Tuygan said Iran recognizes the PKK 
as a terrorist organization, but not KADEK.  Tuygan said 
that, in response to a request from Gul, Kharrazi had agreed 
to look into Iran recognizing Kadek as a terrorist 
organization.  Tuygan said following Gul,s discussions with 
Kharrazi, the MFA does not believe that Iran would intervene 
in Iraq if the event of an incident involving PKK/KADEK. 
 
 
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FM GUL'S UPCOMING VISIT TO DAMASCUS 
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7. (C) The Ambassador also asked about Gul,s upcoming visit 
to Syria.  Tuygan replied &it was our turn to visit Syria.8 
 Gul intends to discuss the normal range of bilateral issues, 
including Iraq.  The Ambassador said some believed Turkey,s 
current high-level engagement with the Iranians and Syrians 
stemmed in part from the alleged differences between 
Washington and Ankara on Iraq.  Tuygan tried to dismiss this, 
saying countries had no choice but to discuss issues of 
mutual concern with their neighbors.  If the three neighbors 
have overlapping messages, he added, that is not necessarily 
concertation, but a factor of their shared situations. 
PEARSON