GOAM DEFERS TO PUTIN COMMENTS ON KYRGYZSTAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 000532

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2015
TAGS: PREL OPDC KG AM RU
SUBJECT: GOAM DEFERS TO PUTIN COMMENTS ON KYRGYZSTAN

REF: SECSTATE 52126

Classified By: DCM A.F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b,d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The GOAM offered limited public reaction to the unrest
in Kyrgyzstan, due to the visit of Russian President Vladimir
Putin which has dominated both headlines and GOAM attention.
During a March 25 press conference, President Robert
Kocharian deferred outright to Putin on the Kyrgyzstan issue.
Local media seized on Putin's comments that Russia would
accept Kyrgyz President Akayev were he to seek refuge in
Russia and Putin's statement that the opposition leaders were
"well known" to the Russians. Private comments by FM Vartan
Oskanian and mid-level contacts at the MFA, however, have
indicated unanimous surprise about the speed of events in
Kyrgyzstan and concern about "who's in charge" in the
country. In reaction to USG talking points, MFA Americas
Desk Officer said the MFA was waiting for a "better sense of
how CIS neighbors would react" before venturing further on
the subject. She told us, however, that the point in our
demarche regarding support for the OSCE mission would be
woven into the draft GOAM statement. End summary.

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VISITING PUTIN: "THESE PEOPLE ARE WELL KNOWN TO US"
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2. (C) The GOAM made only a limited public reaction to the
unrest in Kyrgyzstan. The visit of Russian President
Vladimir Putin has dominated headlines and GOAM resources.
During a March 25 press conference, President Robert
Kocharian deferred outright to President Putin on the
Kyrgyzstan issue. Local media seized on President Putin's
comments that Russia would accept Krgyz President Akayev were
he to seek refuge in Russia and that the opposition leaders
were "well known" to the Russians. Neither the Presidential
nor MFA news services had posted official statements on the
unrest in Kyrgyzstan as of 4:30p.m. local time.


3. (C) In reaction to USG talking points on the subject, MFA
Americas Desk Officer said the MFA was waiting for a "better
sense of how CIS neighbors would react" before venturing
further on the subject. She told us, however, that the point
in our demarche regarding support for the OSCE mission would
likely be woven into the draft GOAM statement. Our judgment
is that the GOAM would confer with Russia before issuing a
statement.

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OSKANIAN: "WE DON'T KNOW THESE PEOPLE"
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4. (C) Contrasting with President Putin's statement about the
opposition leaders in Kyrgyzstan, FM Vartan Oskanian told us
privately March 24 during a meeting with the Ambassador and
later during a USG reception that the GOAM was surprised by
the unrest in Kyrgyzstan and said "We don't know these people
so we don't quite yet know what to think." Oskanian made
particular mention of the speed of the events and said the
GOAM was watching the situation with interest and was hoping
it would end without violence.
EVANS