VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB
DE RUEHAK #1459 2261139
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131139Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7144
INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD IMMEDIATE 1035
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI IMMEDIATE 0485
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS ANKARA 001459
SIPDIS
EUR/SE, ISN/RA, ISN/NESS, SCA/RA, SCA/PPD
DOE FOR DOE/NNSA SCHEINMAN
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PARM ETTC AORC ENRG IN TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: NUCLEAR SUPPLIER GROUP EXCEPTION FOR INDIA
DEMARCHE DELIVERED
REF: STATE 85948
1. (SBU) We delivered reftel demarche on August 12 to MFA
Department Head for Nonproliferation and Disarmament Affairs
Bora Kerimoglu. Kerimoglu expressed appreciation for the
information provided and our offer to respond to any
questions the GOT might have on the issue, and pledged to
convey the U.S. position to his superiors. He said GOT's
position with respect to the August 21-22 Nuclear Supplier
Group (NSG) plenary is still under discussion, and declined
to provide an official GOT position on the question of an
exemption for India. Kerimoglu did offer his personal
assessment that the GOT would be positively inclined to
supporting the India exemption draft text, and certainly
would not block consensus if one emerges at the plenary.
2. (SBU) Kerimoglu asked two questions in response to the
demarche. First, he asked whether the U.S. is concerned that
granting an NSG exception to India might upset the strategic
balance between India and Pakistan. He mentioned that a
representative from the Pakistan embassy had been to his
office and had voiced strong opposition to any sort of
exception for India that would allow it to access sensitive,
dual-use technology. According to Kerimoglu, Pakistan is
concerned that granting India access to dual-use technology
in its civilian nuclear program will eventually help bolster
India's nuclear weapons program. We noted that we fully
appreciate the strategic balance between India and Pakistan,
and that we had considered this issue carefully before
proceeding with the bilateral U.S.-India Civil Nuclear
Cooperation Initiative. We emphasized that bringing India
into an international nonproliferation regime would increase
transparency in India's civilian nuclear program, which
should help assuage the concerns of its neighbors.
Furthermore, the Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA and the
Additional Protocol currently being negotiated will help
ensure that sensitive technology will not be diverted to its
weapons program.
3. (SBU) Second, Kerimoglu asked whether the U.S. believes
Iran would point to an exception for India as more evidence
of the West's double-standard on the nuclear issue. We
stressed that it would not be appropriate to compare India
with Iran, an NPT violator, and noted that Iran continues to
defy the will of the IAEA and the UNSC despite the generous
offer made by the P5 plus 1.
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey
SILLIMAN