Cablegate: Letter From President Talabani to Potus

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OO RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #3690 3111317
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071317Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4257
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 003690

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV TU IZ
SUBJECT: Letter from President Talabani to POTUS

1. (U) Post received a letter from Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani on November 5, addressed to President
Bush. The following is the English text.

2. (U) BEGIN TEXT:

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States of America
The White House
Washington DC.

November 4, 2007

Dear Mr. President,

No matter what challenges we face here in our new
democracy I have always been certain of one thing: the strong,
unflinching support of your leadership and the devoted friendship of
the people of the United States.

The rising tension resulting from ongoing conflict
between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)
causes me to write today. The Prime Minister of
Turkey, Recap Tayyip Erdogan, is arriving in the
United States to meet with you, to discuss what
actions Turkey and possibly the United States
should take to deal with increased violent actions
by the PKK. So I ask you, as a friend and fellow president, to help
us persuade Turkey not to invade
Iraq, an action that would destabilize the Kurdistan Region, the
most stable and prosperous part of Iraq.

There is no doubt in my mind that Prime Minister
Erdogan is genuinely seeking peaceful solutions to
problems raised by the violence. We understand
Turkey's frustration with the actions of the PKK.
We are just as frustrated. However, we sincerely
believe that the only way to solve this long-running problem is
through honest dialogue not further
violence or international conflict.

My government and the Kurdistan Regional Government
have reaffirmed their commitment to resolving the
issues we share with Turkey in a peaceful, non
violent way. Our efforts to secure the release of
the Turkish hostages, as well as our steps to close
down PKK front offices, better defend our borders
and restrict PKK movement are all indications of our sincere
commitment to good neighborly relations.

We want to keep building our positive relations with
our friends and neighbors. In that spirit, I would
be deeply grateful for your continued efforts to
encourage all parties to deal with these issues in diplomatic and
no-violent ways.

Sincerely,

Jalal Talabani

END TEXT.

CROCKER

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