TURKMENISTAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPUTY SECRETARY

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 ASHGABAT 000551 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2017 TAGS: PREL PHUM EPET ENRG TX US SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPUTY SECRETARY MEREDOV TELLS SCA PDAS MANN THAT TRAVEL BLACKLIST WILL BE "EASED" REF: A. A) ASHGABAT 550 ¶B. B) ASHGABAT 0520 ¶C. C) ASHGABAT 0489 ¶D. D) ASHGABAT 0535 Classified By: Classified by Charge d'Affaires a.i. Jennifer Brush for reasons 1.4(B) and (D). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Deputy Chairman for Foreign Affairs Rashit Meredov, in a separate May 31 meeting, told SCA PDAS Mann that Turkmenistan had removed a few names from its travel "blacklist" and that Turkmenistan was re-examining the law on migration to see whether the law could be "eased" to better accommodate U.S. Jackson-Vanik concerns. (Comment: The next day, the embassy was handed a list of five names which had allegedly already been removed from the list, including Maral Yklymova and the names of two embassy employees. Post was told that it, OSCE or other western missions should raise the names of any other individuals whose inclusion on the list they wanted reconsidered. End Comment.) Meredov welcomed the concrete proposals made by members of Mann's delegation to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov (ref a),and stated that his country remained interested in a possible Trans-Caspian pipeline. Mann urged Meredov to follow a policy of diversification, which would be in Turkmenistan's best interests, and expressed U.S. support for resolution of Turkmenistan's border dispute with Azerbaijan. Mann also stressed the need to increase the flow of electricity to Afghanistan in advance of the 2009 presidential election. Mann also raised the Government of Turkmenistan's closure of embassy's surveillance detection program, and asked for Meredov's assistance in finding a solution. End Summary. Turkmenistan Working to Accommodate Freedom of Movement Concerns -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) During a May 31 afternoon meeting following his earlier meeting with President Berdimuhammedov (ref a), SCA/PDAS Mann told Meredov that he recently had a chance to accompany Secretary of State Rice to an event at the White House, and that she had asked how things were going with President Berdimuhammedov. Mann had responded that he had been in Turkmenistan several weeks earlier, and had had a chance to talk with the president. Secretary Rice asked whether Berdimuhammedov was making changes. Mann had replied yes, but had also pointed out that, at that time, Berdimuhammedov had only been president for a month. Stressing his personal best wishes for Turkmenistan, Mann said that there was much interest in Washington in what was happening there, but that Washington also was interested in seeing "serious, concrete steps." He asked Meredov for greater confirmation on the vague message passed to the embassy on May 22 that the travel "blacklist" was being eliminated (ref b). ¶3. (S) Pointing out the president's response in the morning meeting, Meredov told Mann that Berdimuhammedov was serious about reform. According to Meredov a few names already had been removed from the "blacklist," and the embassy should have been given this message. Meredov also claimed that his government was examining the law itself to see if it could not be "eased" to better accommodate U.S. Jackson-Vanik concerns, while avoiding adverse effects on Turkmenistan's social order. Nonetheless, Meredov said he would try to find out more about where things stood. ¶4. (S) Early on June 1, Pol-Mil Chief was called twice into ASHGABAT 00000551 002 OF 004 the Ministry of National Security. The first time, the MNB asked what the United States wanted with regard to the "blacklist"; the second time, the MNB passed Pol-Mil the names of five individuals whose names reportedly had been removed from the travel ban. These names included: -- Maral Yklmova - daughter of convicted-in-absentia alleged assassination attempt plotter Sapar Yklymov (now living in Sweden), -- Jennet Gylychdurdyeva - embassy security guard and daughter of RFE/RL reporter Halmyrat Gylychdurdyev. -- Arzigul Ovezlieva - embassy p/e assistant and sister of imprisoned alleged assassination attempt plotter (fnu) Ovezliev. -- Abdyrahman Bayramov - a lawyer and leader of the Mary-based "Ilkinciler" farmer's group and -- Azat Baymammedov - embassy knows nothing about this individual, and had not advocated for him previously. ¶5. (S) The MNB representative also told Pol-Mil Chief that the embassy, OSCE or other interested diplomatic missions should pass the MNB the names of any other individuals whose inclusion on the list should be reconsidered. Embassy has informed OSCE Human Dimension Officer Benjamin Moreau of these names and this development and we have agreed to not/rpt/not release the names or inform the named individuals until we receive additional clarification on this initiative. ¶6. (C) Following Mann's discussion of the black list, a longer discussion ensued ofthe repressive environment within Turkmenistan and of the negative effects on business of powerful government controls and the suspicions of the security organs. Mann stated that it was time for the nation's Stalinism to end and for Turkmenistan to develop in a modern way. Meredov did not contradict those statements, and instead asserted that serious changes were underway but agains asked fo U.S. understand regarding the timeframe. Turkmenistan Interested in a TCP -------------- ¶7. (C) Meredov told Mann President Berdimuhammedov had expressed satisfaction with the concrete projects that the delegation had proposed during that morning's meeting. Meredov also pointed out that energy was a top item on the presidential agenda and what was most important was what the president had said during the May 12 Putin-Nazarbayev-Berdimuhammedov in Turkmenbashy (ref c): Turkmenistan was willing to consider gas exports in all directions: with China, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI),Iran and the Trans-Caspian pipeline (TCP); all four projects had a "high chance of being realized." ¶8. (C) Mann agreed that the meeting had been very positive and stressed again the delegation's assessment that Turkmenistan had enough gas to export in all directions. The United States did not want to interfere in Turkmenistan's gas exports to Russia; however, there currently was no balance to Turkmenistan's gas exports, and diversifying hydrocarbon exports would benefit Turkmenistan's independence and sovereignty. When Mann solicited Meredov's thinking on how to move the bilateral energy dialogue forward, Meredov ducked the question, stating that the delegation had raised "wide-ranging possibilities," including a delegation to the United States, training and bilateral conferences. ASHGABAT 00000551 003 OF 004 U.S. Wants to Increase Energy Cooperation -------------- ¶9. (C) Mann also noted that the United States was working with its partners to resolve problems, and pulled out a map showing the competing claims of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran in the southern Caspian Sea. (Comment: Meredov visibly winced at the borders shown, and took issue with the map's depiction of the Iranian claim; Mann stressed that the border shown only represented Iran's maximum claim in the South Caspian. End Comment.) Mann emphasized that: -- Only Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan needed to reach agreement on a resolution to their disputed border, and agreement by Russia and Iran was unnecessary. -- The United States wanted to show support for resolution of the border dispute, but would help or not help as guided by the parties; -- As demonstrated in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, U.S. hydrocarbon companies ran world-class, technologically advanced operations; -- When Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Tachberdi Tagyev visited the United States, he should visit major hydrocarbon extraction projects there, in addition to Washington DC; -- Overall there was no guarantee that gas contracts with Russia would be stable; and -- The United States wanted to support the bilateral negotiations between Turkmenistan and Afghanistan to promote increased sales of electricity to Afghanistan and that it was especially important, including for Turkmenistan's stability, to increase electricity in Afghanistan prior to the 2009 presidential election there. ¶10. (C) Meredov responded only to the single out on electricity sales to Afghanistan, stressing the assistance, in terms of low-cost electricity sales and debt forgiveness, that Turkmenistan already was offering its neighbor. Help to Restore Surveillance Detection Program -------------- - ¶11. (C) Mann raised the embassy's surveillance detection program, which had been shut down by the Government of Turkmenistan. It was important to look at the embassy's most recent diplomatic note on the issue, in which the embassy had expressed the wish to work with the Government of Turkmenistan to overcome any misunderstandings about the program. The United States wanted to be completely open about its surveillance detection activities; Mann hoped that the Government of Turkmenistan would work with the embassy to restore the program. Comment -------------- ¶12. (C) Meredov's constructive engagement with Mann on the Jackson-Vanik issue is a change from the legalistic, defensive posture he has usually adopted in previous exchanges on this issue. It is clear that the Berdimuhammedov Administration understands the seriousness of the Jackson-Vanik issue and wants to see the waiver extended. Embassy has yet to see whether the five people on the list -- or any other people whose names western diplomatic issues might raise -- will, in fact, be allowed to travel. While MNB seems to be agreeing to at least reconsider more broadly ASHGABAT 00000551 004 OF 004 possible individual cases, there is yet no additional evidence, other than Meredov's own comments, that the list will be eliminated or, at least, the grounds for having names added to the list will be made more transparent. End Comment. ¶13. PDAS Mann has cleared this cable. BRUSH