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RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 1762
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RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 0336
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001310 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ETRD ENRG AM AZ IS IR TU
SUBJECT: CODEL WEXLER URGES TURKISH ACTION ON MIDDLE EAST 
PEACE, ARMENIA, IRAN 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Doug Silliman for reasons 1.4 (b, d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  Rep. Robert Wexler met August 26-27 with a 
wide array of top-level Turkish officials to discuss the 
current state of U.S.-Turkish relations and to urge them to 
push for greater regional support for President Obama's 
initiatives on Middle East peace and his willingness to deal 
with Iran.  Wexler argued that if Turkey wants to play the 
role of mediator in the Middle East peace process, it needs 
to work to restore credibility with Israel.  He also urged 
the GOT to show positive movement on the Armenian 
normalization talks.  In addition, he discussed the GOT's 
recent "democratic initiative," intelligence sharing, 
U.S.-Turkish commercial relations, energy, and the status of 
EU accession talks.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) In a whirlwind visit to Ankara August 26-28, 
Congressman Robert Wexler met with President Abdullah Gul, 
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, newly-elected Speaker of 
the Turkish Grand National Assembly Mehmet Ali Sahin, Foreign 
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, National Defense Minister Vecdi 
Gonul, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, and State Minister for 
EU Affairs Egemen Bagis.  He also held a roundtable event 
with leading Turkish intellectuals organized by the German 
Marshall Fund.  Rep. Wexler delivered the same consistent 
messages to all interlocutors. 
 
Middle East Peace Process 
------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) In all his meetings except Yildiz, Wexler stressed the 
need for urgent action on Middle East peace and encouraged 
Turkey to use its influence with the Arab world to convey 
this sense of urgency.  He observed that Israeli PM 
Netanyahu's recent move toward freezing settlements is a 
major shift brought about by the new U.S. position, but there 
has been no corresponding movement on the Arab side, which 
seems to feel that it does not have to budge at all from the 
Arab peace initiative.  Turkey can play a key role in pushing 
the Arab world to action, he argued, but if it wants to play 
an active role in mediation, it needs to regain its 
credibility with the Israeli public and do more to repair the 
damage wrought by the Davos incident. 
 
¶4. (C) Gul noted that he has consistently pressed regional 
leaders to take advantage of the opportunity presented by 
President Obama and to support him.  He also has stressed 
that a solution to the issue cannot come from the U.S. alone, 
but that the region has a responsibility to participate. 
 
¶5. (S) Davutoglu promised that he would share Wexler's 
concerns with the Arab world during an upcoming regional tour 
to Egypt, Jordan, and possibly Saudi Arabia and the 
Palestinian territories. He noted that the three months 
leading up to the Palestinian elections will be critical and 
that Turkey supports President Obama's initiative without 
reservation. 
 
Armenia 
------- 
 
¶6. (C) Wexler expressed his appreciation for the courageous 
moves the GOT has taken in starting the normalization process 
with Armenia.  He noted his concern, however, that the lack 
of apparent progress since April has given ammunition to 
Turkey's opponents.  Wexler urged the GOT to "declare" to the 
Parliament the progress made to date and show forward 
momentum. 
 
¶7. (C) Erdogan responded that he "will do this" when 
Parliament reconvenes in October.  Gul admitted that 
negotiations with Armenia have not been as successful as 
hoped.  He expressed his hope that President Sargsian would 
accept his invitation to the soccer match in Bursa on October 
¶14.  Gul also stressed the importance of Russia's support to 
resolution of the issue, saying that it can effectively veto 
any solution.  He noted that he had personally spoken with 
both Putin and Medvedev and received assurances that they do 
want to see the situation resolved.  Davutoglu stressed that 
the normalization is part of Turkey's "zero problem" foreign 
 
ANKARA 00001310  002 OF 003 
 
 
policy with its neighbors, not a response to U.S. pressure, 
and that Turkey is committed to a resolution to meet its own 
interests.  He observed that just as Armenia is constrained 
by Russia, Turkey cannot ignore Azeri interests and Armenia 
needs to understand that normalization with Turkey is not a 
card it can play in the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations. 
 
Iran 
---- 
 
¶8. (C) Wexler underlined the resolve of President Obama to 
prevent Iran from being a nuclear power and urged Turkey to 
convince Iran that it should reach out and accept the 
President's outstretched hand.  Gul noted that Iran is going 
through a complicated internal power struggle and that the 
leadership is confused about what to do with the U.S.  During 
a visit to Tehran in March, Gul met with Supreme Leader 
Khamenei and Ahmedinajad and urged them to accept President 
Obama's offer.  He claimed that they did not refute any of 
his points, but were also unsure about how to proceed.  On 
the nuclear issue, he said that it is no longer just a 
program of Ahmedinajad and the mullahs but rather a goal of 
many Iranians.  He felt, however, that President Obama is 
supported by a majority of Iranians so there is an 
opportunity for action. 
 
Intelligence Sharing/Counterterrorism 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) Erdogan expressed his gratitude for the intelligence 
sharing against the PKK, but indicated a desire for still 
further cooperation in eliminating this terrorist threat.  In 
the meeting with the National Defense Minister, Gonul echoed 
the PM and said the cooperation to date has made Turkey's 
fight against PKK terrorism much more successful.  Gonul told 
Wexler that Turkey sought to procure UAV systems from the 
U.S., and said that Secretary Gates had warned him that while 
the Administration supported the sale in principle, the U.S. 
Congress might not support the sale of an armed UAV to 
Turkey.  Gonul expressed hope that Wexler would be a strong 
proponent of this transfer.  Wexler said he recognized how 
important these systems would be to Turkey's efforts, but 
pointed out that the best way to speed passage of these 
systems through Congress would be for Turkey to take action 
on improving relations with Armenia and on re-opening Halki 
Seminary. 
 
Democratic Opening 
------------------ 
 
¶10. (C) All interlocutors mentioned the GOT's recent 
Democratic (Kurdish) Initiative, and Wexler expressed his 
support for the courageous move.  Gul described it as a 
"wholescale effort for higher democratic standards" while 
Erdogan asserted it is both an anti-terror initiative and an 
original goal of the AKP.  He noted that the project aims to 
provide not only expansion of minority rights, but also 
education, health services, energy, roads, and urban 
transformation to the underserved eastern region.  He 
expressed his disgust with the "ugly accusations" of the 
opposition that it is a U.S. project, and emphasized that 
this is a Turkish plan for Turkish citizens. 
 
¶11. (C) Wexler pointed out that the opening also provides 
space for dealing with the rights of other minorities, and as 
an example emphasized the positive benefits that could result 
from addressing the concerns of the Greek Orthodox community. 
 Bagis indicated that he would consider a private meeting 
with the Greek community during a future visit to DC to 
discuss these possibilities. 
 
¶12. (C) During the German Marshall Fund event, the angst of 
the opposition parties over the plan was clear. 
Representatives from several smaller parties complained less 
about the nature of the project and more about the way the 
government simply announced it without consulting them. 
Wexler noted that there is room for legitimate disagreement 
on the tactics of the opening, but that the opposition needed 
to be credible and rational in its approach and not resort to 
the politics of fear and prejudice to lower the level of 
 
ANKARA 00001310  003 OF 003 
 
 
discussion, as with allegations of U.S. involvement or plans 
to dismember the Turkish state. 
 
U.S.-Turkish Commercial Relations 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (C) Erdogan, Gul, Davutoglu, and Bagis all made reference 
to the need to increase U.S.-Turkish commercial relations and 
the commitment of President Obama to form a task force to 
address this need.  Bagis and Davutoglu both speculated that 
there was a secret executive order to restrict Turkish trade 
as the only explanation for why trade with the U.S. has not 
tripled as it has with Russia (Note: This argument ignores 
both geographical differences and the fact that Turkey's 
trade with Russia is almost entirely imported hydrocarbons, 
which tripled in price.  Turkish exports to Russia in 2009 
are only marginally higher than exports to the U.S.  End 
note.)  Both also raised the perennial idea of Qualified 
Industrial Zones in Turkey as a quick way to increase trade. 
 
¶14. (C) Wexler dismissed the idea of a secret executive 
order, but agreed that the economic leg of the relationship 
needs to be strengthened.  He argued that this will need to 
be driven by the private sector, but that there seem to be 
opportunities especially in clean energy and in 
pharmaceuticals. 
 
Energy 
------ 
 
¶15. (C) Energy Minister Yildiz told Wexler that Turkey has 
fulfilled its responsibilities with regard to Nabucco by 
hosting and signing the Nabucco IGA and thus has done its 
part for EU energy supply security.  In the past several 
months, Turkey has been examining other possible energy 
projects to see which are feasible, including the recent 
deals with Russia, a deal with Georgia on electricity, deals 
with Syria on electricity and gas, talks with Qatar on gas 
supplies, and work with Greece and Italy on the 
Interconnector for Turkey-Greece-Italy (ITGI).  He said 
Turkey has "reached the signing stage" on a gas agreement 
with Azerbaijan. 
 
¶16. (C) In response to Wexler's questions about areas for 
increased business cooperation between the U.S. and Turkey, 
Yildiz suggested oil and gas exploration in the Black Sea and 
joint ventures in third countries such as Iraq.  He said 
Turkey also has strong potential for solar and wind power but 
needs lower technology costs to speed development.  Yildiz 
stressed the importance the GOT places on private sector 
investment in the energy sector and said he would support 
increased U.S. investment. 
 
EU Accession 
------------ 
 
¶17. (C) Bagis admitted that progress on EU accession talks 
has slowed, and that getting substantial results has become 
more difficult.  He argued that there has been technical 
progress in reform but that he must constantly pull new 
rabbits out of the hat and show continued movement to 
overcome increasing resistance both in Turkey and in Europe. 
He expressed his regret that Turkey had only opened one 
chapter during the Czech presidency and was pessimistic about 
the chances to open more during the Swedish term.  He was 
especially frustratedby the freeze on the energy chapter, 
which complicates discussions in an area where Turkey can be 
of massive benefit to Europe. 
 
¶18. (U) Representative Wexler did not have an opportunity to 
clear this cable. 
 
SILLIMAN 
 
           "Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.s 
gov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turkey"