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
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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
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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
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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