TURKMENISTAN'S DEPUTY MINISTER OF DEFENSE TELLS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000203 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY); INL (BUHLER) E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2017 TAGS: MARR PGOV PINR PREL SNAR TX US SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN'S DEPUTY MINISTER OF DEFENSE TELLS A/S BOUCHER COOPERATION WILL CONTINUE REF: A. ASHGABAT 169 ¶B. ASHGABAT 144 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Jennifer L. Brush for reasons 1.4(b) a nd (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) First Deputy Minister of Defense Colonel Atabayev was friendly and relaxed during his February 15 meeting with SCA Assistant Secretary Boucher. Echoing the tone and words of Minister of Defense Agageldi Mammetgeldiyev when he met with the EUR/ACE law enforcement assistance team on January 31 (ref B),Atabayev did not offer any significant or new ideas about Turkmenistan - U.S. defense cooperation, but noted that secure borders were important because Turkmenistan was geographically "surrounded by countries talked about a lot on TV." Atabayev confirmed the significance of current bilateral programs, and expressed the Government of Turkmenistan's gratitude and interest in seeing these programs continue along the current trajectory. Atabayev specifically expressed satisfaction with cooperation in the fields of fire fighting, military medical training and military communications, and welcomed Boucher's proposal for a visit by an expert-level U.S. border security and counternarcotics assessment team to Turkmenistan in the coming weeks. Atabayev agreed that refueling and overflight rights, as well as a Mary Divert agreement were part of the continuing relationship. End Summary. Minister of Defense Unavailable -------------- ¶2. (C) Late in the morning of February 15, post was informed that Minister of Defense Agageldi Mammetgeldiyev was unable to attend the afternoon defense ministry meeting with Boucher due to preparations for the February 18 military parade. (Comment: Albeit an unusual explanation, this is highly probable as most military observers believe the primary active role of Turkmenistan's defense forces to be ceremonial. Post is not reading too much into the minister's inability to attend the meeting. End Comment.) Atabayev might be second string, but he is a regular post interlocutor who is familiar with all elements of the bilateral relationship. Boucher said security assistance was a reflection of the U.S. interest in helping countries secure independence and open opportunities for multiple export routes. Boucher said that the United States wanted to continue cooperation on overflight rights for humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, and Atabayev confirmed this would continue and that there had not been any problems with the U.S.-Turkmenistan bilateral security relationship. Regional Stability and Border Security -------------- ¶3. (C) Speaking comfortably and causally, Atabayev highlighted the need for regional stability as a means to protect Turkmenistan's oil and gas reserves. Atabayev said that Turkmenistan's border security had been enhanced since the early days of independence, adding that until 1994, Turkmenistan's borders were relatively open and the border crossing regime more relaxed, which led to drug trafficking and ethnic Turkmen from neighboring countries freely entering Turkmenistan's territory. He said that Turkmenistan still bore the bulk of the responsibility for border security vis-a-vis Turkmenistan's neighbors, that security along the borders with Iran and Afghanistan had been improved, and that the border with Uzbekistan was "almost fully closed because of the activities of religious extremists." (Comment: Atabayev likely was referring to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorist group. End Comment). ¶4. (C) Atabayev also asserted that Turkmenistan was not a major narcotics trafficking route and used an important international report cited at a conference he attended in ASHGABAT 00000203 002 OF 003 Germany to support his comment. Atabayev said that the government was trying to eliminate the "occasional cases" at the border, but he did not elaborate further. (Comment: The "cases" he referred to might be the drug seizures along the borders with Afghanistan and Iran. Post attended a February 7, drug burn of 562 kilograms of narcotics seized in the last three months (ref A). End Comment.) Atayev also said that the level of drug abuse had decreased in the recent past, although he provided no drug abuse statistics. Boucher said that the United States wanted to conclude a counterproliferation agreement with Turkmenistan to stop the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction (WMD),and emphasized that a signed agreement opened funding channels. Atabayev said that Turkmenistan had no WMD or components for making WMD, and added that even all mines left from the Soviet Union were destroyed. Boucher made reference to Turkmenistan's "neighbors," and said the counterproliferation assistance was intended to strengthen Turkmenistan's borders. Training and Equipment Hailed -------------- ¶5. (C) Atabayev specifically mentioned U.S. assistance, training and equipment in the areas of fire fighting (a Ministry of Defense responsibility),military medical training and military communications, and listed the gift of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter, the two border crossing checkpoints and general equipment as specific examples. He politely said the Ministry of Defense wanted to cooperate more in regard to weapons, but noted that Turkmenistan's inventory of Soviet-era equipment compelled them to deal with buying Russian-origina equipment from Ukraine. In addition, Atayev said that Turkmenistan's military had historically dealt with Ukraine in a natural gas for in-kind goods payment exchange process. He said that, "When we (Turkmenistan or the Ministry of Defense) are wealthier, maybe we will buy from the United States. We buy Mercedes and always want to buy the best." Atabayev added that Turkmenistan's current military bases, equipment and aircraft were not international secrets because they were used in the Soviet Union's war SIPDIS against Afghanistan and were what remained when the Soviet Union dissolved. He said that Turkmenistan had been "rehabilitating" this equipment for the past 15 years. In an oft-used line, he also said that contemporary satellite photography revealed everything and that they had nothing to hide. Normalizing Future Work -------------- ¶6. (C) In response to Boucher's question about U.S.-donated military equipment not being cleared through Turkmenistan's customs, Atabayev said that bureaucratic problems were always a challenge. Boucher said that the United States did not want to see bureaucracy interfering with cooperation, and told Atabayev about two specific issues he addressed with Foreign Minister Rashit Meredov in a previous meeting regarding normalizing the two governments' working relationship. The first was a request for embassy staff to be allowed direct contact with ministries and agencies without having to work through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the second was to conclude the exchange of diplomatic notes regarding permission for U.S. military aircraft to divert to the Mary Air Base in emergencies. Boucher told Atabayev that Meredov asked for the United States to give the new president some time to resolve these issues, but had guaranteed that the use of Mary would not be a problem. Atabayev agreed that direct working relationships would simplify everybody's work. In Closing -------------- ¶7. (C) Atabayev welcomed the potential visit of a U.S. security team and thanked Boucher for a pleasant conversation that showed mutual understanding. Turkmenistan was grateful for the attention and assistance a big country like the ASHGABAT 00000203 003 OF 003 United States gave his country. He saw a positive future for Turkmenistan in the new president's inaugural speech. True to Turkmen custom, as Boucher was leaving the conference room, Atabayev gave him several local gifts, including a bottle of cognac Atabayev described as "presidential," quipping that it was truly presidential because it was paid for from the "Presidential Fund." (Note: The cognac was donated to a worthy cause. End Note.) Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) Although Atayev spent a portion of the time speaking about issues outside of his portfolio, Boucher brought to the table the continued U.S. interest in supporting Turkmenistan's physical security and continuing bilateral cooperation on important regional issues. The congenial meeting was unrevealing in content, and signals that it is too early to tell if anything significant in the bilateral relationship or in Turkmenistan's international relations have really changed. Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Defense, Atabayev noted that Turkmenistan was flattered by the continued U.S. interest and action in Turkmenistan, which could be considered a solid foundation for future US engagement in Turkmenistan in many sectors. End Comment. ¶9. (U) Boucher has cleared this message. BRUSH