Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ASHGABAT871
2008-07-11 07:18:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:  

TURKMENISTAN/HUNGARY: PM GYURCSANY PUSHES

Tags:  PREL EPET HU TX 
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DE RUEHAH #0871/01 1930718
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P 110718Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1134
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000871 

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: 07/11/2018
TAGS: PREL EPET HU TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN/HUNGARY: PM GYURCSANY PUSHES
NABUCCO WITH BERDIMUHAMEDOV

REF: A. ASHGABAT 0778

B. BUDAPEST 0691

Classified By: CDA Richard E. Hoagland: 1.4(b),(d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000871

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: 07/11/2018
TAGS: PREL EPET HU TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN/HUNGARY: PM GYURCSANY PUSHES
NABUCCO WITH BERDIMUHAMEDOV

REF: A. ASHGABAT 0778

B. BUDAPEST 0691

Classified By: CDA Richard E. Hoagland: 1.4(b),(d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Hungarian ambassador Gyorgy Busztin,
resident in Tehran, told Charge and DCM July 10 that
Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany's eight hours with
President Berdimuhamedov on July 9 was dominated by a single
issue: the Nabucco pipeline. While Busztin indicated that
Berdimuhamedov said he would be able to fill Nabucco -- after
he solves some problems -- Turkmenistan's state-run media
took a more nuanced line, stating only that a "broad basis
for successful joint efforts is opening up." Even if
Berdimuhamedov made the commitment to the Hungarians,
Turkmenistan must overcome some major obstacles before it can
act on the president's words. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) The possibility that Gyurcsany might visit
Turkmenistan July 9 to improve bilateral contacts, including
on Nabucco, had first been raised just three weeks earlier by
Hungary's new Ambassador-at-Large for the Nabucco Pipeline
Project, Mihaly Bayer (Ref A). During his stay, Gyrurcsany
had a marathon six-hour meeting with Berdimuhamedov, followed
by excursions to see Turkmenistan's Ahal Teke horses at the
hippodrome and the Russian Bazaar in downtown Ashgabat.


3. (C) Hungarian ambassador Gyorgy Busztin, resident in
Tehran, told Charge and DCM July 10 that there had been only
one substantive issue on the agenda: the Nabucco pipeline.
According to the ambassador, Berdimuhamedov told his visitor
that Turkmenistan supported the Nabucco pipeline, but will
first "need to solve some problems." Gyurcsany also invited
Berdimuhamedov to attend a "Nabucco Summit" in Budapest at a
still-to-be-determined date in the summer of 2009.
Turkmenistan's state-run media provided a more cautious
read-out of the meeting, stating merely that the two leaders
had exchanged views regarding the establishment of the
long-term partnership in the energy sector and had concurred
that a "broad basis for successful joint efforts is opening
up."


4. (C) The two leaders reportedly got along very well, with
Gyurcsany appealing to Turkmen national pride in its Ahal
Teke horses with his wish to see the horses in person.
According to Busztin, when they arrived at the hippodrome,
the Hungarians noticed large portraits of Berdimuhamedov and
Russian President Medvedev left over from the July 4-5
Medvedev visit and pointed it out. When the party left the
hippodrome, however, Meredov's monumental portrait had been
replaced by one of a delicate Ahal Teke horse.
Berdimuhamedov took his guests to the Russian Bazaar, which
had been spruced up espcially for the visit. Vendors were in
new white shirts and no one was permitted to buy the
abundant, glistening fruits and vegetables. The Hungarians
were amused but not put off by the Potemkin Village feel of
the market, which normally is just a regular, teeming,
outdoor market.


5. (C) COMMENT: The extent to which Berdimuhamedov might be
playing Russia and Europe against each other in the ongoing
courtship for Turkmenistan's natural gas is not entirely
clear. EU-TACIS representative in Ashgabat Michael Wilson
told Charge July 10 that, contrary to other reports, he had
been told that Medvedev and Berdimuhamedov had reached a
"gentlemen's agreement" for Turkmenistan to sell Gazprom
80-100 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2010 at a price
of $210 per thousand cubic meters. If true, Wilson added,
this report would make the trans-Caspian pipeline -- needed
for getting Turkmenistan's gas to Nabucco -- uneconomical.
For Turkmenistan to deliver on any of these purported

ASHGABAT 00000871 002 OF 002


commitments, however, it will need to find a way of quickly
resolving a host of other issues, including low gas
production (Turkmenistan's total planned gas production
volume for 2008 is only 81.5 billion cubic meters) and a lack
of adequate transportation pipelines in either direction.
END COMMENT.
HOAGLAND