KAZAKHSTAN"S APPROACH TO OSCE MINISTERIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASTANA 003188 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN M. O'MARA E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/26/2017 TAGS: OSCE PREL PGOV PHUM KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN"S APPROACH TO OSCE MINISTERIAL DEPENDENT ON CHAIRMANSHIP QUESTION REF: STATE 157672 Classified By: CHARGE KEVIN MILAS FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarche on November 21 to Chingiz Kaskeyev, Head of the MFA's OSCE Division. Kaskeyev called U.S. aims for the OSCE Ministerial praiseworthy and said that some of the areas highlighted by Poloff, such as enhanced engagement with Afghanistan, counterterrorism, and combating trafficking, are also of great importance for Kazakhstan. ¶2. (C) Kaskeyev emphasized, however, that the "depth of Kazakhstan's cooperation" is fully dependent on its bid to chair the OSCE. "It will be difficult to talk of cooperation," he said, if Kazakhstan's bid is rejected. If Kazakhstan is not awarded the chairmanship, he added, all of Central Asia will be less likely to actively participate in the OSCE. "The consequences will be sad for the OSCE - Central Asia relationship." ¶3. (C) Kaskeyev told Poloff that Kazakhstan has reservations about some aspects of ODIHR's work, but has never denied its importance. Kazakhstan believes that ODIHR has a key role to play and should be a main channel for cooperation in Central Asia. "If we chair the OSCE, ODIHR will be our main partner," said Kaskeyev. ¶4. (C) Kaskeyev also noted that Kazakhstan is a strong supporter of the CFE treaty. Kazakhstan, he said, hopes that the Adapted CFE Treaty will be ratified as quickly as possible. Kazakhstan has its own security concerns on the Caspian and believes that the CFE treaty helps to ensure that the region is better secured against new challenges, according to Kaskeyev. Milas