Ukrainian Ambassador to Ashgabat Viktor Mayko to

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000561 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL EPET PINR AF UP TX SUBJECT: Ukrainian Ambassador to Ashgabat Viktor Mayko to be Dual-Accredited to Kabul ASHGABAT 00000561 001.4 OF 002 Sensitive but Unclassified. Not for Internet Distribution. Ref: A) Ashgabat 552 B) 5/24/06 Brush-Norland email C) Ashgabat 532 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Ukrainian Ambassador to Ashgabat Viktor Mayko will travel to Kabul in mid-June to present his credentials to President Karzai. Ukraine previously had been represented by its ambassador in Tashkent. Mayko will be a valuable interlocutor on energy issues and also on the trials and tribulations of trying to do business with President Niyazov. Mayko is an excellent diplomat and is interested in having a productive relationship with Embassy Kabul. End Summary. Mayko to Kabul -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On May 24 Charge met with Ukrainian Embassy Economics Counselor Olga Timush, and Political First Secretary Igor Roman to discuss Ambassador Mayko's plans SIPDIS to present his credentials to Afghanistani President Karzai in June. According to Roman, Yushchenko has invited Karzai to visit Ukraine in the second half of ¶2006. (Timush and Roman also provided the current state of play on gas negotiations reported ref A.) Timush said that Mayko was anxious to establish strong ties to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and hoped to be able to call on Ambassador Neumann during his visit. Timush and Roman plan to travel to Kabul June 8 to lay the groundwork for Mayko's visit. They noted that in addition to discussing policy, they were interested in discussing logistics, in particular communications. Charge offered to forward the request and provide Mayko's biography to Embassy Kabul (Ref B). ¶3. (SBU) Timush and Roman avoided answering Charge's question about why accreditation was being shifted from Tashkent to Ashgabat, but agreed that Ukraine's expertise in the pipeline construction sector could assist any eventual Trans-Afghan Pipeline (TAP) project. To this end they emphasized Maykos' prior job as Deputy Director of Ukrainian construction giant "Interbudmontazh." (http://www.interbudmontazh.com/eng/home.php) ¶4. (SBU) Charge reviewed the current state of play on the TAP, noting the triumvirate of unknowns: -- volume of gas supplies in Turkmenistan, -- security in Afghanistan, and -- volume of demand from Pakistan/India. Charge also noted that though the USG thought the idea of a TAP had considerable merit, U.S. companies were not showing significant interest in this project because of these unknowns. Mayko's Biography -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Ambassador Mayko is well and favorably known to the embassy. He is eager to cooperate with the United States and exchange views and information. Since his arrival in 2005 (and following the election of Yushchenko) his entire mission has been on a bit of a friendship offensive with us. Mayko speaks excellent English and has an acerbic wit which, to the delight of the diplomatic corps, he regularly deploys at the expense of his Russian colleagues. ¶5. (U) Following is the biography the Ukrainian Embassy ASHGABAT 00000561 002.4 OF 002 provided upon Mayko's arrival in Ashgabat: Begin Text: Viktor Mayko (biography) Date and place of birth: July 7, 1960; Dnipropetrovsk Citizenship: Ukraine Marital status: married, has a daughter (born in 1985) EDUCATION 1982 - graduated from the Kiev State University named after T. Shevchenko (journalism) 1999 - completed postgraduate studies at the Ukrainian Foreign Trade Academy Candidate of Economic Science PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 1977 - 1982: Student of the Kiev State University named after T. Shevchenko 1982 - 1984: Reporter of the "Prapor zmagannya" newspaper 1984 - 1989: Military service 1989 - 1991: Chief Science Editor of the Advanced Training Institute for Senior Officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine 1991 - 1992: Head of the Marketing Department of the Westinform Small-sized Enterprise 1992 - 1994: Director of the Interprofservice Joint Venture 1994 - 1999: Deputy Head, Head of the Trade and Economic Mission of the Ukrainian Embassy in the UK 1999 - 2000: Head of the Investment Cooperation and Exchange Control Department; Head of the Main Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade of Ukraine; Executive Secretary of the Interagency Committee for Ukraine's Entry into the WTO 2000 - 2005: Director for Foreign Economic Relations and Strategic Planning, First Deputy Chairman of the Interbudmontazh Joint-Stock Company 2005 - Present: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in Turkmenistan Comment -------------- ¶6. (U) Embassy will provide more details about Ambassador Mayko's visit as they become available and thanks Embassy Kabul for any assistance it can provide. End Comment. BRUSH