US embassy cable - 03ANKARA3487

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 003487 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, TU 
SUBJECT: TURKEY: MFA D/U/S ILKIN'S MAY 27 CYPRUS BRIEFING 
TO ANKARA DIPLOMATIC CORPS 
 
 
REF: ANKARA 3412 
 
 
(U) Classified by DCM Robert S. Deutsch.  Reason:1.5(b)(d) 
 
 
1. (C) Summary: MFA Deputy U/S Baki Ilkin briefed 
representatives of EU and Permfive countries May 27 regarding 
GOT  and "TRNC" efforts to reinvigorate the Cyprus process. 
Ilkin asserted that decisions by "TRNC" leader Denktas and 
the GOT allowing Greek Cypriots to visit the north and the 
Turkish mainland are helping to improve the atmosphere on the 
island.  He volunteered, however, that such steps do little 
directly to ameliorate the core disputes between Greek- and 
Turkish Cypriots on issues including territory, restitution, 
and Greek Cypriot right of return to the north.  End summary. 
 
 
2. (C) Ilkin noted at the outset that in the aftermath of the 
latest, unsuccessful round of UN-sponsored Cyprus talks, all 
sides needed to bridge the widening "confidence gap."  As a 
result, at Denktas's initiative, the "TRNC" decided last 
month to allow Greek Cypriots to visit their former homes in 
the north, a move matched by the GOT's decision to permit 
Greek Cypriot tourism in Turkey.  According to Ilkin, some 
300 thousand Greek Cypriots have taken advantage of the move 
to see the north; some 150 thousand Turkish Cypriots have 
visited the south.  Currently, Greek- and Turkish Cypriots 
are crossing the border at rates of up to six thousand and 
three thousand per week, respectively.  Some 1,000 Turkish 
Cypriots go south daily to work, he added.  The Greek Cypriot 
side, Ilkin alleged, is trying to place some restrictions on 
those visiting the north: any foodstuffs brought back from 
Turkish Cyprus in excess of half a kilo can be confiscated at 
the border; moreover, the Greek Cypriot Parliament is looking 
at legislation to make it a criminal offense for any Greek 
Cypriot to spend the night in the Turkish sector. 
 
 
3. (C) Ilkin noted that such measures, while helping to 
improve the atmosphere on the island, "do not solve the 
problem by themselves."  In that vein, the "TRNC" and the GOT 
are willing to discuss the issues.  However, Ilkin said he 
wanted to make it clear that: 1) the "TRNC," not/not the GOT, 
will continue to be the Greek Cypriots' interlocutor in any 
talks; and 2) the UNSYG's Cyprus plan (Annan III) cannot be a 
"basis" for further negotiations -- that would eliminate 
"room for maneuver."  Instead, 3) the plan could serve as an 
instruments to bridge the gaps; "elements" of the plan could 
be salvaged and discussed if indeed this would be useful in 
making progress.  If the plan were a "basis", preserving its 
balance would leave too little space for negotiation between 
the two sides.  Denktas and the GOT are willing to see a 
negotiation of the two side's request for changes to the 
plan.  "The problem is that the disagreement between the 
sides is on the same four or five issues," Ilkin said.  This 
makes compromise difficult.  Nonetheless the "TRNC" is 
evaluating how to proceed, despite the Greek Cypriot 
"pre-conditions" enumerated by President Papadopoulos 
 
 
4. (C) Ilkin asserted that lifting the embargo on the "TRNC" 
was key to establishing increased confidence to underpin 
future negotiations. He noted that the EU was considering a 
package toward this end, but said the GOT was withholding 
judgment pending: 1) the actual publication of the package 
and 2) Denktas' evaluation of it. 
 
 
5. (C) During the Q and A segment, several EU diplomats urged 
the GOT to act with dispatch to get the process moving again, 
noting that there is not all that much time until Cyprus 
officially joins the EU next May; it will shortly again 
become a fish-or-cut-bait situation.  UK Ambassador 
Westmacott observed that by not accepting Annan III as the 
"basis" of negotiations, it appeared the GOT is trying to 
start again from scratch.  This he said, would only doom the 
Cyprus process to failure again.  Ilkin demurred with an arch 
joke, saying that he "knows how to play softball and 
hardball." 
 
 
6. (C) Comment: Ilkin's briefing reflected the GOT stance 
reported reftel, but did little to advance the prospects for 
a Cyprus settlement process that gets back on track quickly. 
End comment. 
PEARSON