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DE RUEHAK #0074/01 0190539
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P 190539Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1704
INFO RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 5499
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 6768
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/FAA HQ WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000074 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EEB/FO, EEB/CBA, EEB/TRA/OTP, EUR/SE 
PARIS FOR FAA TRICIA STACEY 
COMMERCE FOR ITA/MAC CHERIE RUSNAK AND KRISTIN NAJDI 
NSC FOR BRIDGET BRINK 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/14/2020 
TAGS: BEXP ETRD EAIR PREL TSPA TU
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES BOEING SALE WITH 
TRANSPORTATION MINISTER 
 
REF: ISTANBUL 17 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James Jeffrey for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary. Minister of Transportation Binali Yildirim 
confirmed to Ambassador Jeffrey that price is now the main 
sticking point in the prospective purchase of Boeing aircraft 
by Turkish Airlines (THY).  Yildirim stressed, however, that 
price is not the only consideration and that THY is looking 
at the (vague) associated conditions for evidence of a 
long-term partnership and commitment.  He added that the GOT 
is also hoping for a heightened level of civil aviation 
cooperation with the FAA, and that progress on that front 
would improve the environment for Boeing as well.  Finally, 
he repeated President Gul's request to President Obama for 
assistance in sending a Turkish astronaut into space, and 
hinted that this was tied into Turkey's consideration of 
commercial deals.  The Ambassador highlighted Boeing's long 
history of cooperation with and investment in Turkey, not 
only through partnerships with local firms but also via 
direct investment in the community through its corporate 
social responsibility programs.  He also promised to discuss 
the possibilities for cooperation with FAA and investigate 
whether NASA could help facilitate the Turkish space program. 
 End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Ambassador Jeffrey, accompanied by Commercial 
Counselor and Econoff, met with Minister of Transportation 
Binali Yildirim on January 14 to advocate on behalf of Boeing 
in the ongoing procurement of new airplanes for the THY 
fleet.  THY recently announced that it would be purchasing 20 
Airbus single-aisle aircraft with an option for 10 more. 
Negotiations with Boeing for a similar number of 737s are 
ongoing (see reftel).  The value of this deal is 
approximately USD 3.4 billion. 
 
¶3. (C) The Ambassador, alluding to the discussions between 
President Obama and Prime Minister Erdogan, noted his 
understanding that the main sticking point in the 
negotiations now seems to be on price (as was expressed by 
THY CEO to CG Wiener in reftel).  Yildirim confirmed that 
price is the most important outstanding issue and observed 
that haggling over price is a normal part of any business 
negotiation.  He went on to say, however, that price is not 
the only consideration, and that THY and the GOT are looking 
at the offer carefully with an eye toward after-sale service 
and long-term partnership.  Ambassador Jeffrey highlighted 
Boeing's longstanding commitment to Turkey, its history of 
cooperative production with local manufacturers, its 
world-class corporate social responsibility programs, and the 
superior quality of its products. 
 
¶4. (C) Yildirim added that the GOT is evaluating the Boeing 
offer in the context of Turkey's overall civil aviation 
cooperation with the United States, especially in terms of 
cooperation between the Ministry and the FAA.  He noted that 
Turkey needs to strengthen both its technical infrastructure 
and its human capacity to meet the growing demand for 
aviation services, and expressed hope that the FAA could 
provide assistance on all these fronts. Cooperation in this 
area will create the right environment for commercial deals, 
he said, without going into specifics on what type of 
assistance is necessary.  A frustrated Ambassador observed 
that FAA has a solid history of collaboration with the Civil 
Aviation Directorate General and promised to investigate how 
the USG might best lend assistance. 
 
¶5. (C) In addition to FAA assistance, Yildirim hinted 
obliquely that Turkey's desire to send an astronaut into 
space -- expressed in a letter from President Gul to 
President Obama -- is also tied into its consideration of 
commercial deals, and that NASA assistance to help stand up 
Turkey's nascent space program would be viewed positively. 
Ambassador Jeffrey noted that scheduling a Turkish astronaut 
on an upcoming mission would be extremely difficult, but that 
other technical assistance from NASA in establishing Turkey's 
space program might be a possibility. 
 
¶6. (C) Comment: Yildirim's conflation of USG-GOT interactions 
and what is ostensibly a commercial sale between private 
firms suggests an unwelcome, but unsurprising, degree of 
political influence in this transaction.  His comments may 
also explain the confusing mention of offsets by Prime 
 
Minister Erdogan in his meeting with the President - if the 
GOT is truly evaluating the sale as a "U.S." offer rather a 
Boeing offer, then the desired "offsets" may have been from 
the USG rather than Boeing.  While there should not be a link 
between this deal and FAA/NASA assistance in developing 
Turkey's aviation and aerospace agencies, such assistance in 
and of itself could be mutually beneficial and merits further 
study.  We probably cannot put a Turkish astronaut in orbit, 
but there are programs we could undertake to strengthen 
Turkey's capacity in this area that would meet our own goals 
for improved aviation safety in the region.  In any case, we 
must/must show some response to the Minister's vague requests 
if we want to maximize chances for the sale.  End comment. 
 
Jeffrey