TURKEMNISTAN: HUNGARY'S NABUCCO AMBASSADOR INVITES

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001205 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/CARC, EUR/RUS, EEB PLEASE PASS TO USTDA DAN STEIN ENERGY FOR EKIMOFF/THOMPSON COMMERCE FOR HUEPER E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2018 TAGS: PREL ECON EPET RU TX SUBJECT: TURKEMNISTAN: HUNGARY'S NABUCCO AMBASSADOR INVITES TURKMENISTAN TO NABUCCO SUMMIT REF: A. ASHGABAT 0955 ¶B. ASHGABAT 0871 ¶C. ASHGABAT 0778 ¶D. ASHGABAT 0458 Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Hungary's Ambassador at Large for the Nabucco Pipeline Project Mihaly Bayer met September 10 with Charge. He was in Ashgabat to deliver an invitation to President Berdimuhamedov to attend a Nabucco Summit in Hungary January 26-27, 2009. Bayer had just come from Baku where he had delivered the same invitation to Aliyev. He said if Berdimuhamedov and Aliyev come, others will also attend. He also said an invitation will be extended to the United States, and the hope is that the United States would attend at the highest possible level. ¶2. (C) Bayer emphasized that the meeting will be a Summit and not a seminar and would be a clear indicator of support for the project. There will be 15 invited participants, including the six Nabucco countries, the four suppliers (Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Egypt, and Iraq),Georgia, the European Commission, the incoming Czech presidency, the United States, and the Nabucco International Pipeline Company. The invitation to Georgia is to highlight that country's role as an important transit country and to "restore and strengthen Georgia" as a safe energy transit country. KEEPING HIS VISIT LOW KEY ¶3. (C) Bayer said the Turkmen were keeping his visit very low key, which he ascribed to increased pressure on Turkmenistan from Russia following the conflict with Georgia. (NOTE: There was no press coverage of Bayer's visit in Turkmenistan. END NOTE.) He said "people were very nervous." He would not meet with the president, but would pass the invitation to the Nabucco Summit to Deputy Chairman Tachberdi Tagiyev. He would also meet with Head of the Turkmen Gas State Concern Baymurat Hojamuhammedov. However, a meeting in the MFA was less certain. Bayer hoped to meet with either the foreign minister or deputy foreign minister, with the goal being to have a conversation. He said protocol to him was less important than building the relationship with the Turkmen. Building that relationship would help to give a push to Nabucco. RUSSIA ¶4. (C) Bayer said trust between Europe and the Russians has been undermined by the Georgia conflict. It will take a long process to restore this trust. He asserted that the Russians had cut off their own legs by their actions in the Caucasus. Europe does not want to depend on Russia, but Russia has to sell gas to Europe or it will empty its own pockets. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: While the Turkmen may be very supportive of Nabucco, Bayer's inability to get the highest level meetings is a sign that the Turkmen did not want to trumpet his presence. They do not want any additional pressure from the Russians. END COMMENT. CURRAN