Jigs
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Monday, January 3, 2011
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Turkeys aspirations are not limited to its region, or even the globe, according to a recently released document that says the Turkish president sought to cut a deal to put a Turkish astronaut into outer space.
President Abdullah Gül asked his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama to let a Turkish astronaut participate in a NASA space flight in return for buying Boeing jets, said a U.S. diplomatic cable obtained by the New York Times from the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
Describing a meeting between then-U.S. Ambassador to Ankara James Jeffrey and Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım, the cable said the State Department fielded requests from Turkey to help it build its own space program, including putting a Turkish astronaut on a NASA flight, in attempting to persuade authorities in Ankara to buy Boeing commercial planes for Turkish Airlines, or THY.
The cable cited Yıldırım as confirming to Jeffrey during the meeting that price had become the main sticking point in the prospective purchase of Boeing aircraft by THY. Yıldırım stressed, however, that price is not the only consideration and that THY is looking at the (vague) associated conditions for evidence of a long-term partnership and commitment, the cable read, saying that the transportation minister expressed Ankaras hopes for a heightened level of civil aviation cooperation with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and said progress on that front would improve the environment for Boeing as well.
In addition to FAA assistance, the cable said, Yıldırım hinted obliquely that Turkeys desire to send an astronaut into space expressed in a letter from Gül to Obama was also tied to its consideration of commercial deals, and that NASA assistance for Turkeys own nascent space program would be viewed positively.
After highlighting Boeings long history of cooperation with and investment in Turkey, Ambassador Jeffrey noted that scheduling a Turkish astronaut on an upcoming NASA mission would be extremely difficult, but that other technical assistance in establishing Turkeys space program might be a possibility, the leaked U.S. document said.
Jeffrey met with Yıldırım in January 2010 to advocate on behalf of Boeing in the ongoing procurement of new airplanes for THYs fleet. At the time, the Turkish carrier had recently announced it would be purchasing 20 single-aisle aircraft with an option for 10 more from Boeings European rival Airbus.
Commenting on how the meeting went, Jeffrey said in the cable that assisting Turkeys aviation and aerospace agencies could be mutually beneficial in and of itself and merits further study. We probably cannot put a Turkish astronaut in orbit, but there are programs we could undertake to strengthen Turkeys capacity in this area that would meet our own goals for improved aviation safety in the region, he wrote. In any case, we must show some response to the ministers vague requests if we want to maximize chances for the sale.
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Turkeys aspirations are not limited to its region, or even the globe, according to a recently released document that says the Turkish president sought to cut a deal to put a Turkish astronaut into outer space.
President Abdullah Gül asked his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama to let a Turkish astronaut participate in a NASA space flight in return for buying Boeing jets, said a U.S. diplomatic cable obtained by the New York Times from the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
Describing a meeting between then-U.S. Ambassador to Ankara James Jeffrey and Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım, the cable said the State Department fielded requests from Turkey to help it build its own space program, including putting a Turkish astronaut on a NASA flight, in attempting to persuade authorities in Ankara to buy Boeing commercial planes for Turkish Airlines, or THY.
The cable cited Yıldırım as confirming to Jeffrey during the meeting that price had become the main sticking point in the prospective purchase of Boeing aircraft by THY. Yıldırım stressed, however, that price is not the only consideration and that THY is looking at the (vague) associated conditions for evidence of a long-term partnership and commitment, the cable read, saying that the transportation minister expressed Ankaras hopes for a heightened level of civil aviation cooperation with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and said progress on that front would improve the environment for Boeing as well.
In addition to FAA assistance, the cable said, Yıldırım hinted obliquely that Turkeys desire to send an astronaut into space expressed in a letter from Gül to Obama was also tied to its consideration of commercial deals, and that NASA assistance for Turkeys own nascent space program would be viewed positively.
After highlighting Boeings long history of cooperation with and investment in Turkey, Ambassador Jeffrey noted that scheduling a Turkish astronaut on an upcoming NASA mission would be extremely difficult, but that other technical assistance in establishing Turkeys space program might be a possibility, the leaked U.S. document said.
Jeffrey met with Yıldırım in January 2010 to advocate on behalf of Boeing in the ongoing procurement of new airplanes for THYs fleet. At the time, the Turkish carrier had recently announced it would be purchasing 20 single-aisle aircraft with an option for 10 more from Boeings European rival Airbus.
Commenting on how the meeting went, Jeffrey said in the cable that assisting Turkeys aviation and aerospace agencies could be mutually beneficial in and of itself and merits further study. We probably cannot put a Turkish astronaut in orbit, but there are programs we could undertake to strengthen Turkeys capacity in this area that would meet our own goals for improved aviation safety in the region, he wrote. In any case, we must show some response to the ministers vague requests if we want to maximize chances for the sale.
