This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001742 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP; NEA/PPD; NEA/RA; INR/R/MR; PA; INR/NESA; 
INR/B; RRU-NEA IIP/G/NEA-SA 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE; NSC 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
USCINCCENT FOR POLAD 
LONDON FOR MCKUNE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP KMDR TC
SUBJECT:  SPECIAL MEDIA REACTION:  "AL BAYAN" EXCLUSIVE WITH 
TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER 
 
¶1.  Summary: Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul claims 
that Ankara refused an American nuclear reactor in exchange 
for providing facilitative assistance to the U.S. in its 
confrontation with Iran.  Gul noted that a military option 
to end the impasse is very unlikely simply because Iran 
possesses many important abilities and the consequences of 
any military adventure is unlikely.  End summary 
 
¶2.  Dubai-based Arabic daily "Al-Bayan" (circulation 90,000) 
in a 4/30 front-paged, carried an exclusive interview with 
Turkish Foreign minister Abdullah Gul by the newspaper's 
correspondent in Ankara, Muhammad Al-Shami.  The headline 
reads: "Gul tells Al-Bayan: `We refused an (American) 
nuclear reactor in exchange for facilitative assistance to 
strike Tehran." 
 
¶3.  During the interview Gul was cited as telling "Al-Bayan" 
that "Ankara rejected allowing American troops to use the 
Turkish base of Angerlic to direct strikes against Iran 
despite the attraction of a nuclear reactor, however, he 
sounded skeptical that the U.S. would go ahead in a military 
option because Iran possesses many strategic cards in 
addition to the approaching American elections, which he 
predicted would lead to the loss of the ruling Republican 
Party." 
 
¶4.  Gul added that "American efforts to contain and strike 
Iran are mere illusions", noting that the Turkish position 
rejecting the use of its territories or its participation in 
any military operation against neighboring nations is 
strategic.  Regarding the tense relations between Washington 
and Ankara, Gul said: "these relations have not been stabile 
since the ruling Justice and Development Party came to 
power."  He added that "the tension is multifaceted and has 
many causes, namely the differences in positions between the 
U.S. and Turkey on the presence of the Kurdistan Labor Party 
guerillas in Northern Iraq, the American position in support 
of an independent Kurdish state, Turkey's support of the 
Palestinian issue, and the recent position with regard to 
Hamas' arrival to power." 
 
¶5.  On whether the recent Iranian nuclear issue added more 
tension to relations, Gul noted: `Yes, because we continue 
to reject participating in such a strike despite all 
American and Israeli attractions and we will never use our 
territories and especially the Angerlic base to launch any 
attack against Iran...  I must say here that the occupation 
of Iraq was carried out without our participation, however 
American-Israeli pressure aims to unite Turkey and Israel 
together in the dispute with Iran.  In other words, the U.S. 
Administration wants us to pursue a clear foreign policy as 
a satellite to the Western camp."  He added that "Turkey 
will never do this despite all attractions, including the 
establishment of a Turkish nuclear reactor to counter 
Iran... 
 
¶6.  On the U.S. confrontation with Iran he said: "any 
military strike against Iran is an unlikely adventure.  I 
expect the current escalation to stop at a certain stage, 
but not the stage of war, especially due to the lack of any 
evidence that Iran is producing nuclear weapons." 
 
SISON