VZCZCXRO8681
PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHTH #1450/01 1561442
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 051442Z JUN 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5689
INFO RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA PRIORITY 2558
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 4142
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 001450 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EUR, EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/05/2016 
TAGS:          
SUBJECT: FM BAKOYANNIS DISCUSSES TURKEY-EU-CYPRUS AND 
AEGEAN ISSUES WITH AMBASSADOR 
 
REF: ATHENS 1405 AND PREVIOUS 
 
ATHENS 00001450  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: AMB. CHARLES P. RIES FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D) 
 
 1.  (C)  SUMMARY:  FM Bakoyannis told Ambassador June 5 that 
she would sound out Turkish FM Gul, at a meeting later this 
week in Istanbul, on opening up the Turkish Cypriot port of 
Famagusta for direct trade in return for the nearby area of 
Varosha being given back to its Greek Cypriot owners.  Aware 
of the potential train wreck with the EU for Turkey's failure 
to open its ports/airports to Greek Cypriot shipping, she 
argued this would be a "win-win" situation for all.  In the 
aftermath of the May 23 fighter accident (ref), Bakoyannis 
said she would also discuss extending a 1988 Greek-Turkish 
agreement providing for a moratorium on Aegean training 
flights for the months of July and August, and would ask that 
the rest of June and September be included.  Bakoyannis said 
the two countries' CHODs were already discussing safer rules 
of engagement for fighters, and this would be a discussion 
point with Gul as well. END SUMMARY. 
 
FM Agrees on Avoiding Turkey-EU Train Wreck 
------------------------------------------- 
 
 2.  (C)  At a June 5 meeting, FM Bakoyannis told Ambassador 
that Turkey faces a "very difficult" situation both 
domestically and vis-a-vis the EU regarding Turkey's EU 
accession prospects.  She highlighted, in particular, that 
French Interior Minister Sarkozy was quite open in expressing 
opposition to Turkey's potential EU membership, and said she 
believed if Turkey became an issue in the French election 
campaign, things would become even more "complicated."  The 
FM agreed with Ambassador that we must find a way out of the 
potential train wreck this fall if Turkey should fail to 
implement its promise to open its ports/airports to Greek 
Cypriot shipping.  The idea of postponing this decision via 
Turkey referring the matter to the ECJ would only make things 
worse, in the FM's opinion. 
 
3  (C)  The FM expressed concern about the situation inside 
Turkey, and asked for our take.  Ambassador responded that it 
is not as bad as it looks.  The recent assassination of the 
state judge was a serious matter, but our Embassy in Ankara 
was of the view the government would weather the storm. 
Ambassador noted that U.S. relations with Turkey in recent 
months had improved.  The FM pointedly responded that 
Greek-Turkish relations were not better, and that she was 
worried about Greek public opinion becoming restless with a 
rapprochement policy that had not produced much. 
 
FM To Sell FM Gul on Famagusta-Varosha 
-------------------------------------- 
 
 4.  (C)  The FM proposed pitching FM Gul, with whom she'll 
meet on the margins of a June 9-10 conference in Istanbul, on 
the well-known offer of opening the port of Famagusta for 
direct trade (under EU administration) in return for the 
nearby area of Varosha being given back to its Greek Cypriot 
owners.  She argued this would be a "win-win" for all.  To 
speak just of opening Famagusta without returning Varosha 
would "be impossible" for Cypriot President Papadopoulos to 
accept.  The FM noted that Greek Cypriot investment could 
then flow into Varosha, providing jobs for Turkish Cypriots 
and serving as an example of reunification.  Asked whether 
Ankara could accept returning Varosha right now, since it had 
always held that it should be a final status issue, the FM 
responded that just opening Famagusta for direct trade would 
only strengthen partition because there would be no 
interlinkage of the two communities.  Bakoyannis dismissed 
the notion of opening trade over the Green Line, saying it 
would be impractical because of the need for the Greek 
Cypriots to conduct phytosanitary and other controls on 
arriving goods, undermining the political benefits. 
 
 5.  (C)  Asked what part of Famagusta, which serves the 
Turkish military as well, would be left for this activity, 
Bakoyannis said that the proposal concerns only commercial 
aspects and that "we are far from discussing" military 
matters.  (Comment: We interpret the FM as signaling that the 
Greeks envisage a sector of the port being set aside for 
military cargoes outside of the zone of EU supervision. End 
Comment.)  Asked what next steps would be if Gul expressed 
interest and what external partners could do to help, 
Bakoyannis said she would let us know.  She noted that Greece 
is nearly alone within the EU in trying to help Turkey honor 
its obligations -- most EU members just want Turkey to 
implement the Protocol, and if that does not happen, then 
 
ATHENS 00001450  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
believe Turkey's application should be postponed. 
 
Greek-Turkish Aegean CBMs 
------------------------- 
 
 6.  (C)  Set against backdrop of the May 23 fighter accident, 
which resulted in the death of a Greek pilot (ref A), 
Bakoyannis said she would also discuss with FM Gul the 
extension of a 1988 memorandum between the then Greek and 
Turkish FMs ("Papoulias-Yilmaz understanding") that provided 
for a moratorium on military training flights in the Aegean 
during the months of July and August.  She added that she 
would press for this agreement to include the rest of June 
and September as well.  The FM responded positively to 
Ambassador's suggestion on the need for safer rules of 
engagement between the sides' fighters, saying the Greek and 
Turkish CHODs are already talking about this and that it 
would also be a discussion point with Gul. 
 
 7.  (C)  Ambassador complimented her decision to go ahead 
with her planned trip to Istanbul, despite negative public 
opinion fallout from the fighter accident.  Smiling wryly and 
saying she's had enough people tell her not to make the trip 
to Istanbul, Bakoyannis said she "hopes nothing happens" 
during visit.  In any event, the FM said she believes in 
having as much face-to-face contact as possible with her 
Turkish counterpart, since Gul "must know what our position 
is."  Asked about the possibility of a joint Greece-Turkey 
referral of Aegean disputes to the ICJ, the FM again answered 
that "we are very far away from that."  She said the Turks 
remain intransigent on this and PM Erdogan is not yet ready 
to talk. 
RIES