UZBEKS AGREE IN PRINCIPLE TO INCREASED COOPERATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 000989 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/RPM, AND INR/REA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/21/2017 TAGS: PREL PINR NATO AF UZ SUBJECT: UZBEKS AGREE IN PRINCIPLE TO INCREASED COOPERATION WITH NATO REF: 06 TASHKENT 2332 Classified By: CDA Brad Hanson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: A NATO delegation told NATO missions May 18 that discussions with the Government of Uzbekistan went well. The Uzbeks have re-engaged in Brussels, agreed to work with NATO's Central Asia Liaison Officer for the first time, and appointed a military liaison of their own. Deputy Defense Minister Niyazov questioned the logic of the EU extending sanctions against Uzbekistan at the same time that NATO is seeking broader engagement, but said that the political dialogue would continue. During the discussions, the Uzbeks did not rule out allowing all ISAF countries to use the German air bridge at Termez to move personnel into and out of Afghanistan, made a "firm commitment" to resume the Planning and Review Process, and agreed in principle to intelligence sharing, focused initially on Afghanistan. Despite the now familiar promises of cooperation, Post urges caution, particularly on intelligence sharing, to ensure that cooperation is a two-way street. The Government of Uzbekistan's words, as always, will need to be tested. End Summary. ¶2. (C) A NATO delegation visiting Tashkent the week of May 14 provided a debrief to NATO missions on its discussions with the Government of Uzbekistan. Delegation leader Peter Kovacs said that the visit was a follow-up on NATO Special Representative to Central Asia Robert Simmons' December visit (reftel) and was intended to identify concrete steps that NATO and Uzbekistan could take to move forward on cooperation. He said Uzbekistan had re-engaged in Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council activities in Brussels, had agreed to work with NATO's Central Asia Liaison Officer for the first time, and had recently appointed its own military liaison to NATO. (Comment: The officer is resident in Astana, technically still accredited as a Turkish diplomat while he waits for Kazakh accreditation as a NATO liaison officer, which explains the Uzbeks prior refusal to work with him. End comment.) ¶3. (C) Deputy Minister of Defense Niyazov led the Uzbek side in the discussions. Kovacs portrayed this as a positive sign, as, in his opinion, Niyazov is in a position to make decisions and firm commitments on behalf of the government. ;Kovacs said that the Uzbeks clearly were worked up over the May 14 European Union decision to extend sanctions, and saw nothing positive in it. They asked about the logic of the European Union extending sanctions at the same time as NATO was looking to increase cooperation with Uzbekistan. The NATO delegation, Kovacs said, stressed the need for continued political dialogue. Niyazov agreed and said that the dialogue would continue despite the EU's decision, and also said that Uzbekistan appreciated the recent invitation for its military Chief of Staff to attend the NATO Chiefs of Defense meeting in May. ¶4. (C) Kovacs and other delegation members provided a summary of their discussions in the following areas: Afghanistan: The NATO delegation requested that Uzbekistan permit all countries contributing to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to use the German air base in Termez to move personnel in and out of Afghanistan and to overfly Uzbek airspace. (Comment: At present, eight ISAF nations, including the U.S., UK, and France, are not permitted to use the German air bridge. End comment.) The Uzbeks did not rule out allowing use of the German air bridge. However, it said that countries wishing to use the base in Termez or to overfly Uzbek airspace likely would need to join the Uzbek-German bilateral agreement. The sides also agreed on more cross-border cooperation in Afghanistan; the details of what exactly this means will need to be worked out between ISAF and the Uzbeks. Defense Cooperation: Niyazov made a "firm commitment" that the Uzbeks would rejoin the Planning and Review Process (PARP),which has been dormant in the case of Uzbekistan TASHKENT 00000989 002.2 OF 002 since 2004. The Uzbeks said that they would respond to the 2006 PARP survey "soon," which the delegation took to mean within the next two to three months. NATO hopes to conduct a PARP assessment in Tashkent later in 2007, after which Uzbekistan can start working on partnership goals agreed upon by Allies. Niyazov said that Uzbekistan's initial priority was to get the education and training needed to stand up a peacekeeping battalion. Kovacs mentioned the Uzbek side seemed to understand that an Uzbek request for equipment for a peacekeeping battalion would be a non-starter with NATO at this time. Civil Emergency Planning: NATO agreed to provide the Uzbeks with information on planning for chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological (CBRN) events. It also offered additional training on NATO headquarters procedures and host nation support issues in late 2007 or early 2008. Security: NATO and the Government of Uzbekistan concluded an agreement on the appropriate handling of classified information in 1995, but there has not been an inspection under the agreement for several years. The Uzbeks agreed to a NATO Office of Security inspection, and also agreed to consider a reciprocal inspection visit to Brussels. The NATO delegation also raised the possibility of assisting Uzbekistan to create a secure communications link with NATO headquarters to facilitate the rapid sharing of classified information. Intelligence Sharing: Kovacs said that NATO is very interested in tapping into Uzbek information networks in Northern Afghanistan. The Uzbek side agreed in principle to increased cooperation and asked that information sharing focus initially on Afghanistan. Kovacs suggested that NATO might consider resuming distribution, perhaps retroactively, of classified assessments to Uzbekistan. He also suggested that increased cross-border cooperation between ISAF and Uzbekistan might include the exchange of tactical intelligence. All of the details remain to be worked out between Uzbekistan and NATO's Intelligence Liaison Unit. Other: The NATO delegation urged the Uzbeks to resume the past practice of sending visitors to NATO headquarters. Niyazov said that Uzbekistan is willing to do so, but wants greater say in trip participants and the topics that are discussed. No agreement was reached. NATO is interested in scientific cooperation with Uzbekistan, starting with providing affordable internet connections at academic institutions. The Uzbeks requested NATO assistance in destroying stocks of melange, a rocket fuel residue, which Kovacs said NATO is willing to consider if funding can be found. (Comment: This is a very interesting request, considering that in 2006 Uzbekistan rejected an already funded OSCE project to destroy melange stockpiles. Post supports the destruction of Uzbekistan's melange by either NATO, OSCE, or a combination of the two. End comment.) ¶5. (C) Comment: Post disagrees with Kovacs' assessment of Deputy Defense Minister Niyazov. Like all other Uzbek officials, Niyazov has no authority to make independent decisions or commit Uzbekistan to anything. Those decisions will be made by President Karimov alone. Despite an apparent decision that some resumed cooperation with NATO is in Uzbekistan's interest, it remains to be seen how far Karimov will go in making good on the usual general promises of cooperation. Post urges caution, particularly on intelligence sharing, to make sure that cooperation is a two-way street. In particular, providing retroactive intelligence products about Afghanistan to the Government of Uzbekistan without first receiving substantive information in kind rather than merely more lip service is a bad idea. HANSON