AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENTIAL ADVSIOR SAYS KRAKOW SUMMIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000617

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/15/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV ENRG AZ
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN PRESIDENTIAL ADVSIOR SAYS KRAKOW SUMMIT
A SUCCESS, BUT MORE TO DO

Classified By: A/DCM Joan Polaschik, Reasons 1.4 (b,d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. GOAJ Chief of the Presidential Apparat's
Foreign Relations Department Novruz Mammadov told the
Ambassador that the May 11 'Energy Summit' in Krakow,
Poland among the heads of State of Azerbaijan, Urkraine,
Lithuania, Georgia and Poland was "very important for
Azerbaijan's Caspian Energy Cooperation with Europe."
However, he decried the absence of high-level
representation from Kazakhstan at this summit, and said
that the USG needs to "redouble its efforts" towards this
country. More generally, Mammadov said that the USG needs
to increase the level of USG involvement in Caspian Energy
issues, to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin's
"courtship" of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) In a May 14 discussion with the Ambassador, GOAJ
Chief of the Presidential Apparat's Foreign Relations
Department Novruz Mammadov said that President Aliyev's
just-concluded trip to Poland, to include his May 11
signing of an Energy Communique along with the Presidents
of Ukraine, Georgia, Lithuania and Poland, was very
important for Azerbaijan's Caspian Energy cooperation with
Europe. The Summit communique was good, as was the
creation of a working group to prepare proposals for
cooperation among Caspian, Black and Baltic Sea countries.


3. (C) Although the communique mentioned cooperation on a
range of fronts, Mammadov said for Azerbaijan the
cooperation will focus mainly on energy (i.e. oil and
gas). The GOAJ will help create structures towards
implementing this energy cooperation, and to this end there
will be joint working groups with a consortium of companies
from the signatory countries. The focus will be on
pipelines, with oil coming first and then gas and oil.
Mammadov said all cooperation will be on a commercial
basis, based on market prices. All the countries involved
in the Krakow summit "showed a strong will to cooperate."
However, Mammadov said the only problem was the absence of
Central Asian countries. The senior representative from
Kazakhstan was the Deputy Minister for Energy, who was
perceived as "not senior enough" and who "brought no firm
positions."


4. (C) Mammadov said that "Azerbaijan was in a delicate
position" in this conference, as it was presented as one of
the organizers of the conference, and was the only energy
producer country participating. As such, "we are in a
delicate position vis a vis Russia, who is already putting
pressure on us."


5. (C) There will be a follow-on meeting in Vilnius, in
October. For this meeting, Mammadov said that the GOAJ
will need the full support of the US Government and the EU.
More generally, Mammadov said Russian President Vladimir
Putin was "courting Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan at the Head
of State level," and that if the US Government wishes to
maximize the chances of success for its Energy Policy, it
should increase the level of USG involvement in Caspian
Energy issues
HYLAND