Cablegate: Turkey Hosts Political Consultations On

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS ANKARA 001120

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL MARR TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY HOSTS POLITICAL CONSULTATIONS ON
BLACKSEAFOR

1. MFA hosted political consultations among Black Sea Force
(BLACKSEAFOR) participants in Ankara on January 19. The
joint press communique (para 2 below) explains that the group
decided to focus BLACKSEAFOR activities on fighting
terrorism. They also discussed the need to protect the Black
Sea from organized crime, illegal trafficking and WMD
proliferation, and decided to examine increasing the
frequency of BLACKSEAFOR activations from one to two per
year. We received a copy of the communique on the margins of
the February 18 Joint Staff Talks.

2. Begin Text of Press Communique:

Representatives of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of
participating States to the BLACKSEAFOR Agreement (Bulgaria,
Georgia, Romania, Russian Federation, Turkey and Ukraine) met
in Ankara on 19 January 2004 for political consultations upon
the invitation extended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the Republic of Turkey under Article VI of the BLACKSEAFOR
Agreement. The Commander of BLACKSEAFOR was also present at
the meeting.

The representatives exchanged views on the newly emerging
security environment in and around the Black Sea Region.

In this context, they underlined the strategically important
location of the Black Sea in terms of political, economic and
security circumstances in Europe and its wider environs.

The representatives reaffirmed their common understanding
that security in the Black Sea constitutes primordial
importance for the littoral states and that therefore they
should take primary responsibility for the maintenance of
peace and stability in the area through the engagement of
their common assets and capabilities. They underlined the
fact that BLACKSEAFOR is an already available instrument,
which can be used for the achievement of this objective
through various means compatible with the overall aims of the
BLACKSEAFOR Agreement.

The representatives shared the assessment that the Black Sea
area should be protected against threats and challenges such
as terrorism, organized crime, illegal trafficking and
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In this
context, they emphasized the need to fight against terrorism
within the framework of the BLACKSEAFOR Agreement.

The representatives reiterated their resolve to further
intensify cooperation in the areas specified in the
BLACKSEAFOR Agreement.

The representatives emphasized the importance of the full and
effective implementation of the document on "Confidence and
Security Building Measures in the Naval Field in the Black
Sea" as a substantial contribution to the consolidation and
enhancement of peace and stability in the area.

The representatives agreed on the need to further examine the
frequency of the activation of BLACKSEAFOR on the basis of
two or more activations per year with a view to enhancing
interoperability within the Force.

The representatives exchanged views on cooperation in
information sharing, employment of
command/control/communications capabilities, training
opportunities through exercises and other tasks that may be
contemplated in the future for enhanced cooperation among the
participating States to the BLACKSEAFOR Agreement.

The representatives underlined that the activities of
BLACKSEAFOR are undertaken in full transparency. They agreed
to seek achieving synergy with other international security
institutions and regional initiatives, as appropriate.

Political consultations will continue in the future. While
keeping the option of an earlier meeting open, the
representatives welcomed the kind offer of Ukraine to host
the next consultations meeting at the end of 2004 or the
beginning of next year.

End text.
EDELMAN

© Scoop Media