AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH SCO SECRETARY GENERAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 BEIJING 011758

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

SECDEF FOR OSD
NSC FOR WILDER
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/10/2031
TAGS: PREL ECON CH IR KZ RS
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH SCO SECRETARY GENERAL
ZHANG DEGUANG

REF: A. A) 05 BEIJING 16701


B. B) FBIS 20060606055043

C. C) BEIJING 8927

Classified By: Ambassador Clark T. Randt, Jr. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
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1. (C) The United States is gravely concerned over
the participation, even as an observer, by Iran, a
state sponsor of terrorism, in the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit to be held in
Shanghai June 15, the Ambassador stressed to SCO
Secretary General Zhang Deguang on June 9. The

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Ambassador noted that Zhang had claimed at a June 6
press conference that there is no evidence that Iran
is a state sponsor of terrorism in response to
Secretary Rumsfeld's public comments. The Ambassador

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underscored Secretary Rumsfeld's concerns and handed
Zhang a non-paper drawn from the Department's annual
Terrorism Report outlining why Iran is the leading
state sponsor of terror.


2. (C) Iranian President Ahmadinejad may well try to
manipulate the Summit to promote his own agenda on
matters such as the nuclear issue, the Ambassador
noted. Zhang said he met June 8 with the Iranian
Charge in Beijing to stress that the six member states
of the SCO, not observer states like Iran, are
responsible for the SCO Summit. The Iranian side
understands that it cannot speak for the SCO.
Reporters may ask Ahmadinejad questions and he may
answer them, but in the unlikely event that
Ahmadinejad purports to speak for the SCO, Zhang will
publicly set the record straight. There are no plans
to discuss the Iran nuclear issue at the Summit.
Press reports that Iran has resumed enrichment of
uranium are not encouraging but it is necessary to see
what Iran does over the longer term, Zhang said.


3. (C) The Ambassador expressed the strong objection
of the USG over last year's SCO Astana Declaration
call for a timetable for drawing down Coalition Forces
engaged in Afghanistan. He strongly urged that there
be no repeat this year. Zhang said the Astana
Declaration reflected the situation at the time, when
conditions in Afghanistan appeared to be stabilizing.
It was not an ultimatum. President Karzai will attend
the SCO Summit and the SCO and Afghanistan will seek
to enhance cooperation through the Contact Group they
have established, Zhang said. End Summary.

Grave U.S. Concern over Iranian Participation
--------------


4. (C) During a June 9 lunch, the Ambassador stressed
to Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretary General
Zhang Deguang (Ref A) grave U.S. concern over Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's participation in the
June 15 SCO Summit in Shanghai. Washington is very
concerned that Ahmadinejad will try to use the Summit
as a platform for his own agenda and present the SCO
as an alternative to the EU-3 and the United States in
seeking a resolution to the Iran nuclear issue. The
Ambassador underscored Secretary Rumsfeld's publicly

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stated concern that the SCO, an organization whose
purported main objective is to fight terrorism, is
inviting Iran, the world's leading state sponsor of
terrorism, to its Summit. Highlighting that
Ahmadinejad has called for the obliteration of Israel,
the Ambassador noted that during a June 6 press
conference (Ref B) Zhang claimed that there is no
evidence to prove Iran is a state sponsor of
terrorism. Despite Iran's claims that it does not
support terrorism, the ground truth is extremely
different. While the SCO opposes the "Three Evil
Forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, Iran
is a leader in globally promoting two such forces:
terrorism and extremism. The Ambassador passed Zhang
a non-paper the text of which is drawn from the State
Department's annual Terrorism Report outlining why
Iran is in fact a state sponsor of terrorism.


5. (C) Secretary General Zhang said U.S.-SCO
communication is extremely important in order to avoid
misunderstandings over matters such as U.S. concerns
over Ahmadinejad's potential use of the SCO as a tool
to advance his own agenda. The U.S. Government
believes that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism,
but the SCO does not support this conclusion or
definition, Zhang remarked. Iran, in the process of
becoming an SCO observer, pledged to support the SCO's
international counterterrorism efforts. The SCO
pursues regional stability and economic and other
multilateral forms of cooperation. It is an open
organization. The SCO is not an anti-U.S. or anti-
Western alliance and it cannot be manipulated into
opposing any third party. These principles are
enshrined in the SCO Charter, which has been agreed
upon by all SCO members' heads of state, Zhang
continued.

Observers Cannot Pursue Individual Interests at Summit
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6. (C) Zhang stressed that the SCO's decision-making
authority is reserved solely for SCO member states,
not observer states like Iran. Only SCO members
formulate the Summit's agenda and procedures.
Observers do not participate in the process. Non-
members, including observers and representatives from
other international organizations, will not be able to
influence members' decisions. This policy has already
been communicated to observer countries. Zhang noted
that he met Iranian Embassy Charge d'Affaires Farhard
Assadi June 8 at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing.
Assadi expressed a clear understanding of what rights
Iran does and does not have as a Summit observer,
according to Zhang.


7. (C) Zhang said SCO observers do not have the right
to utilize the Summit to pursue their individual
policy interests. Their activities and remarks must
be conducted in accordance with the SCO spirit.
According to relevant SCO regulations, observers
cannot make statements that oppose or contradict SCO
principles and cannot engage in activities that attack
the organization. Failure to comply with these rules
could cause them to lose their observer status.
Regarding reports that Iran may seek full SCO
membership at the Summit, Zhang stated that the SCO

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has not yet created any legal foundation for the
acceptance of new members. The current member states
need to determine the criteria before any new
countries can qualify for membership. There are going
to be no new members emerging from this Summit, Zhang
declared.

Iran Cannot Speak for SCO
--------------


8. (C) The Ambassador expressed concern that
Ahmadinejad could organize his own press conference on
the sidelines of the Summit and that his comments
might embarrass China and be misconstrued as
representative of the SCO position. Zhang said
Ahmadinejad cannot speak for the SCO. No SCO member
supports Ahmadinejad's rhetoric against Israel. The
SCO will arrange for members' heads of state to
address the media but there are no plans for the SCO
to arrange a press conference for Iran. If
Ahmadinejad is approached by reporters or chooses to
talk with the press on his own, he should not
misrepresent his personal statements as the views of
the SCO. If he does, Zhang said he will personally
and publicly renounce any linkage between
Ahmadinejad's remarks and the SCO position.


No SCO Plan to Discuss Iran Nuclear Issue
--------------


9. (C) The SCO appreciates and supports the momentum
achieved in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue
through negotiation, Secretary General Zhang remarked.
There has been no specific discussion of the issue
within the SCO framework, although the SCO does plan
to discuss nonproliferation issues at a general level
as part of its foreign ministry consultations. There
is no plan to discuss the Iranian nuclear issue at the
Summit. Any future decision to raise the matter must
be based on the consensus of the six member states, he
said.


10. (C) The Ambassador noted that the morning press
reports indicating that Iran had restarted its uranium
enrichment activities were not an encouraging sign for
the negotiations. Zhang agreed that these reports are
not encouraging, while adding that it is necessary to
watch what Iran does over the longer term.
Negotiations and a gradual deepening of ties will help
reduce the hostility, he alleged. The SCO would
welcome an improvement in U.S.-Iran relations and
appreciates U.S. efforts to promote a peaceful
resolution to the nuclear issue. The past 27 years
without diplomatic relations have not benefited either
the United States or Iran, which is a major regional
power, Zhang continued. Any military threat against
Iran would be counterproductive and should be avoided.
Zhang asserted that Iran is prepared to negotiate
understandings with the United States on many issues,
including Iraq.

Astana Declaration
--------------


11. (C) The Ambassador underscored the USG's strong

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objection to the 2005 SCO Astana Declaration's call
(Ref C) for a timetable for Coalition troops'
withdrawal from Afghanistan. This sends the wrong
signal to terrorists in Afghanistan. The Ambassador
strongly urged that there be no repeat this year.
Zhang said the Astana Declaration reflected the
situation at the time, when conditions in Afghanistan
appeared to be stabilizing. It is not an ultimatum,
he said.


12. (C) Zhang remarked that terrorism is a global
problem. SCO countries, including China, Russia and
Uzbekistan, support Coalition counterterrorism efforts
in Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks.
Zhang criticized the view that Central Asia is a "big
chess board," adding that this concept denotes a zero-
sum game. Central Asia cannot be monopolized by any
power nor should countries compete for influence or
seek to exclude others from the region. Zhang asked
about reports that the United States is seeking to
establish a regional organization to counterbalance
the SCO. The Ambassador said he is not familiar with
such reports. The USG is not moving to set up any
rival organization to the SCO, he added.

President Karzai to Attend
--------------


13. (C) Zhang confirmed that Afghanistan President
Karzai will attend the upcoming Summit as a guest.
This will be Karzai's second time at an SCO Summit,
following his participation in the 2004 Tashkent
Summit, which formally established the SCO-Afghanistan
Contact Group. The functions of the Contact Group,
whose members consist of SCO Secretariat officials,
permanent representatives of member states to the SCO
Secretariat, the Afghan Ambassador and other Afghan

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officials, are to exchange counterterrorism
information and provide Afghanistan with
reconstruction assistance. The specific projects have
not yet been finalized and will be further discussed
during President Karzai's visit. Zhang remarked that
the Contact Group and U.S. efforts in Afghanistan are
not competing and share the goal of promoting
stability and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

SCO Direction Will Not Change
--------------


14. (C) The Shanghai Summit will focus on summarizing
the SCO's experience over the past five years,
reaffirming the organizations' firm principles and
seeking to generate more concrete results, according
to Zhang. Some member countries, such as Kyrgyzstan,
which is facing significant economic hardships, want
the SCO to offer more development assistance.
Counternarcotics will not be a major topic for the
heads of state but will be left for expert group
discussions, he said.


15. (C) The SCO's slogan of "peace, cooperation,
openness and non-alignment" will not change in the
future, Secretary General Zhang responded in answer to
the Ambassador's question about the SCO's future role.
The SCO will continue its regional activities of
combating terrorism, separatism, extremism, drug

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trafficking, weapons smuggling and transnational
crime. The organization will further promote economic
and trade cooperation in areas including energy,
transportation and environmental protection. In
addition, the SCO will try to strengthen cultural and
educational exchanges. Planned large-scale projects,
such as power plants, will be funded by an SCO inter-
bank consortium comprising representative banks from
the six member countries, with the China Development
Bank as chair. Some experts have suggested that the
SCO seek funding from sources outside the SCO, Zhang
noted.

U.S.-Russia Relations Deteriorated
--------------


16. (C) Zhang, a Russia expert who served as a
diplomat in the former Soviet Union for many years,
opined that U.S.-Russia relations have deteriorated,
citing recent public opinion polls in both countries.
He characterized criticism in the United States over
Russia's backsliding on democracy as biased, remarking
that Russia's democracy is constantly evolving, albeit
not moving forward in a straight line. Some U.S.
scholars have unfairly characterized the prosecution
of powerful oligarchs. One example is former Yukos
Chairman Khodorkovsky, who has been proven by the
Russian law system guilty of tax evasion.
Khodorkovsky has no popular support in Russia, Zhang
claimed. The USG ought to support President Putin,
Zhang stated.

Kazakhstan the Rising Star in the Region
--------------


17. (C) Noting that he is personal friends with
Kazakh President Nazarbayev, Secretary General Zhang
praised Kazakhstan's fast economic growth and
Nazarbayev's leadership, asserting that in 10 years
the country will have one of the most competitive
economies in the world. Despite claims by
insignificant opposition groups, Nazarbayev truly
enjoys overwhelming public support, Zhang alleged.
RANDT