US-Turkey disagreements on Iran aired by WikiLeaks

Turkey and the United States failed to come to terms in a meeting this month on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program, one of the documents leaked Sunday by WikiLeaks has revealed. According to the cable, U.S. diplomat Philip Gordon unsuccessfully tried to persuade Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to not to expend any efforts seeking compromises with Iran on the nuclear issue.

The meeting mentioned in the cable was held Nov. 12 and lasted 40 minutes.

Iran, the cable said, needed a solution that would not be seen by the Iranian public as a defeat, thus weakening President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hand domestically: “The Iranians have said [to Davutoğlu] they are willing to meet with [EU foreign policy chief Javier] Solana, but have told the Turks that they have serious problems with Cooper and the British. They have ‘more trust’ in the U.S. The Iranians would also prefer to get fuel from the U.S. rather than the Russians.”

According to the document, Davutoğlu had said the Iranians “a) are ready to send a delegation to Vienna to work out the specifics on this proposal; b) have given their ‘full trust’ to Turkey; c) continue to face serious domestic problems inside Iran.”

In his conversation with Gordon, the Turkish foreign minister noted two different proposals: “The first is Iran’s request for fuel for its nuclear reactor. Even if this takes place, [Davutoğlu] said, we still need to work on limiting Iran’s nuclear enrichment capability. If we succeed with this proposal, he said, it will create ‘confidence’ and a ‘new momentum’ and would allow room for negotiation.”

Gordon’s reminding Davutoğlu of the risks of Iran having nuclear weapons was answered as follows: “Davutoğlu gave a spirited reply, that ‘of course’ Turkey was aware of this risk. This is precisely why Turkey is working so hard with the Iranians. President [Abdullah] Gül himself had spent two hours Sunday with Ahmadinejad in Istanbul.”

According to Davutoğlu, “Turkey’s foreign policy is giving a ‘sense of justice’ and a ‘sense of vision’ to the region” by bringing in a “third option.”

The cable ended with this remark from Gordon: "We need a ‘pro-Western approach AND a sense of justice."


/Hurriyet Daily News/