Cablegate: Turkey: Donors' Assistance to Lebanon

P 281512Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8236
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 0474
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV PRIORITY 0084
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 0841
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 0607
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 0279

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004964

SIPDIS

BRUSSELS FOR USEU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PREL TU LE SW
SUBJECT: TURKEY: DONORS' ASSISTANCE TO LEBANON

REF: SECSTATE 139903

1. (SBU) Summary. At the August 31 donors meeting in
Stockholm, Turkey will pledge assistance in the form of
reconstruction projects, likely focused initially on the
power sector. The GOT is looking for projects that
contribute to long-term growth, understanding that it is also
important to deal with Lebanon's debt and deficit problems
and create a macroeconomic framework conducive to private
sector-led growth. The Turkish private sector and NGO's are
also interested in and well-positioned to make a
contribution. Turkish officials will attend a follow-on
meeting on aid to the Palestinians, but do not believe such
aid can be effective until Israel and the HAMAS Government
work out some kind of modus vivendi that allows aid to be
delivered to those in need. End Summary.

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AID TO LEBANON
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2. (SBU) MFA Deputy Undersecretary Ahmet Uzumcu and
Ambassador Koray Targay -- MFA's assistance coordinator for
Iraq and Afghanistan who has also been asked to take on
Lebanese assistance -- will represent Turkey at the August 31
Lebanon Donors meeting in Stockholm. According to Targay,
the Council of Ministers has not yet set the dollar amount of
Turkish assistance. Targay said Turkey's pledge would focus
on reconstruction in general, and probably on one or two
infrastructure projects specifically, depending on the amount
of funding available. He said he was looking at power sector
projects including repairing damaged power transmission
lines, starting up the completed, but not operational Banyas
natural gas pipeline from Syria, and seeing if something
could be done to resurrect the Trans-Arabian Pipeline
(Tapline) from Saudi Arabia. Targay said he is looking for
long-term projects that contribute to sustainable economic
growth and that the counterpart for all GOT projects would be
the Government of Lebanon. He did not think he would have
any trouble convincing his MFA superiors and the Prime
Minister of the importance of funding such projects.

3. (SBU) Targay said he understood that restructuring
Lebanon's $38 billion official debt would also be on the
agenda in Stockholm, with a possible follow-on meeting in
Beirut. Although Turkey holds a very small amount of
bilateral claims, it would support a debt restructuring
accompanied by a meaningful economic reform plan. Targay
understood that France was opposed to discussing debt in this
forum. He was, however, disappointed by the failure of
previous French-led efforts to encourage sound macroeconomic
policies.

4. (SBU) Targay also noted that a number of Turkish NGO's,
including the Kizilay (Red Crescent), Turkish Kidney
Foundation, Deniz Feneri (Lighthouse) association, and the
Istanbul Organization for International Cooperation, as well
as the GOT's Turkish Emergency Management Agency, had
provided emergency humanitarian assistance in the wake of the
fighting. Contributions from the public were still coming
in. The International Red Crescent Society also sent $300
million in humanitarian relief to Lebanon using the Turkish
port of Mersin as an operational hub. Targay said such aid
was provided to "Lebanese public institutions" for
distribution to end-users. Turkish aid is not going to
Hizballah as such, but he thought it quite likely that some
Hizballah-related organizations could end up benefiting from
the assistance given the role they play in Lebanese society.
The Turkish private sector was also actively involved in
cleanup and initial reconstruction.

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AID TO PALESTINIANS
-------------------

5. (SBU) Targay will participate in a follow-on meeting on
aid to the Palestinians organized by Sweden on September 1.
While he believed that a "three year humanitarian assistance
strategy" was necessary to avoid "starvation" in Gaza and a
Palestinian exodus from Gaza and the West Bank, he stressed
Turkey's belief that such aid could only reach the people who
need it with Israel's active assistance. This in turn would
require an understanding of some sort between Israel and
HAMAS. Turkish assistance would only be provided under these
circumstances.

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COMMENT
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6. (SBU) Turkey's financial capacity is limited under its
IMF program, but its geographical proximity and deep private
sector and historical ties leave it well-placed to make a
significant contribution to reconstruction and growth in the
Lebanese economy. Its own success in reforming government
finances and spurring growth under the IMF's auspices should
also be a positive regional example for Lebanon. Targay said
he understood that the United States would be represented by
a strong delegation and that he hoped to have contact with
the U.S. delegation, some of whom he knows from his work on
Afghanistan and Iraq.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON

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