Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KIEV1088
2006-03-22 05:23:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Kyiv
Cable title:  

UKRAINE: KAZAKHSTAN AND THE 2009 OSCE

Tags:  PREL PGOV PBTS PHUM OSCE UP KZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7625
PP RUEHDBU
DE RUEHKV #1088 0810523
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 220523Z MAR 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KIEV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8268
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L KIEV 001088 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PBTS PHUM OSCE UP KZ
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: KAZAKHSTAN AND THE 2009 OSCE
CHAIRMANSHIP-IN-OFFICE


Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Sheila S. Gwaltney for reasons 1
.4 (b,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIEV 001088

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PBTS PHUM OSCE UP KZ
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: KAZAKHSTAN AND THE 2009 OSCE
CHAIRMANSHIP-IN-OFFICE


Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Sheila S. Gwaltney for reasons 1
.4 (b,d).


1. (C) Summary: During a March 2 meeting with U.S.
Ambassador to the OSCE Julie Finley, DFM Volodymyr Khandohiy
said Ukraine would not actively lobby for the 2009 OSCE
Chairmanship in Office, but might consider advancing its
candidacy if Kazakhstan were to voluntarily withdraw its bid.
End summary.


2. (C) Asked by Ambassador Finley about Ukraine's relations
with Kazakhstan, Khandohiy said he did not have much to say
about the relationship except that it was a normal one and
Ukraine had an interest in Kazakh natural gas. A Kazakh
company was also one of the bidders to construct an extension
to the Odesa-Brody pipeline to Plock in Poland. Ambassador
Finley inquired how firm was the Ukrainian government's
endorsement of Kazakhstan's bid to be OSCE Chairman in Office
in 2009 that had been issued by all participants in the
August 2005 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit
in Kazan, Georgia. In Ambassador Finley's opinion,
Kazakhstan might not be quite ready to be Chairman-in-Office
of an organization based on support for democracy and human
rights. She noted that her inquiry was only preliminary,
since no decision needed to be taken until the OSCE took up
the issue of the 2009 chairmanship in December.


3. (C) Khandohiy responded warily that President Yushchenko
had stressed the importance of good relations with
Kazakhstan, especially since Kazakhstan could be a key
element in Ukraine's energy security. Ukraine had expressed
an interest in assuming the OSCE Chairmanship in Office in
2013 and would prefer to stick to this schedule. If
Kazakhstan voluntarily withdrew its candidacy, then Ukraine
might consider advancing its bid.


4. (C) Ambassador Finley said that, while not wishing to
embarrass the Kazakhstan government, she thought that
Kazakhstan should have an additional two years to demonstrate
its commitment to democratic principles. Words were not
enough. If Kazakhstan took appropriate steps to demonstrate
its commitment concretely to democratic principles, then the
USG would be the first to endorse Kazakhstan's candidacy for
OSCE Chairman in Office in 2011. Kazakhstan needed to
develop a way to gracefully remove itself from the running
for Chairman-in-Office, which could be done as late as
September, Ambassador Finley commented. Kazakhstan's
President Nazarbayev could say that, while Kazakhstan
remained extremely interested in assuming greater leadership
within OSCE, the demands of economic development and
democratic reform precluded assuming the OSCE Chairmanship in
Office in 2009. Khandohiy said he understood and thanked
Ambassador Finley for her suggestion, which was "worth
discussing."


5. (U) Ambassador Finley cleared this cable.


6. (U) Visit Embassy Kiev's classified website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev.
Herbst