VZCZCXYZ0021
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAK #1132 1311313
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111313Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2076
INFO RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW IMMEDIATE 5546
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS IMMEDIATE 5378
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2672
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS ANKARA 001132 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
PARIS FOR USOECD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECIN OECD TU
SUBJECT: TURKISH VIEWS ON OECD ENLARGEMENT 
 
REF: STATE 62464 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Turkey supports Russian OECD membership 
because of Russia's importance to Turkey and because Turkey 
believes greater Russian participation in international fora 
will make Russia feel more secure.  Keeping Cyprus out of the 
OECD is their top priority but Turkey is open to considering 
other new EU members. MFA officials do not expect Turkey to 
be represented at the ministerial level at next week's 
meeting because of the intense domestic political activity in 
Ankara.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------- 
No to Cyprus, Yes to Russia 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Department Head responsible for OECD issues 
reiterated that Turkey's top priority in the enlargement 
debate is to keep Cyprus out of the OECD, although it could 
accept other EU-8 candidacies on a case-by-case basis. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The MFA official complained about the inclusion of a 
Cypriot representative at the recent EDRC meeting, even 
though the legal advisor agreed with Turkey that non-members 
should not participate.  She said the OECD should follow its 
own rules. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Aside from joining a consensus in favor of admitting 
Israel and Chile, Turkey favors engagement and ultimate 
accession for the BRICS.  For Turkey, the top of the list is 
Russia.  She explained why Turkey attaches priority to 
Russia's candidacy (despite Russia and Turkey having been 
historic enemies).  She said Russia is an increasingly 
important trade partner for Turkey with whom Turkey has very 
good political and economic relations.  Moreover, Turkey 
believes that by including Russia in more international fora, 
such as the OECD and the WTO, Russia will come to feel more 
secure in its relations with the international community. 
 
¶5. (SBU) MFA was not ready to comment on the financing issue. 
 As a smaller contributor, Turkey is presumably opposed to 
changes that would increase its share of the organization's 
budget. 
 
------------------------------- 
Politics Keeps Minister at Home 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Although Minister of Finance Kemal Unakitan is 
officially still slated to lead the Turkish delegation to the 
MCM, MFA was sure he would not go to Paris because of the 
current intense political activity in Ankara.  MFA Deputy 
Under Secretary Selim Kuneralp is expected to lead the 
delegation instead. 
 
 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
WILSON