KAZAKHSTAN STILL MULLING IAEA MESA SEAT

S E C R E T ASTANA 001283 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/17/2018 TAGS: PREL KNNP IAEA AORC SY KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN STILL MULLING IAEA MESA SEAT REF: STATE 76033 Classified By: DCM Kevin Milas for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S) On July 17, DCM delivered reftel points to Deputy Foreign Minister for Multilateral Affairs Nurlan Danenov and Director of Multilateral Affairs Office Balibai Sadikov. He stressed the high-level of commitment by the USG to this issue and our willingness to engage at the highest levels, if necessary. He also mentioned Kazakhstan's self-imposed July 20 deadline. He underscored that the longer the Syrians had to advance their candidacy, the more difficult it will be to turn around. Finally, he added that we believe that support for Syria was soft, and if Kazakhstan advanced its candidacy, some countries that have already committed to Syria might be inclined to support Kazakhstan. ¶2. (S) Mr. Dudenov said the GOK was seriously considering putting itself forward, but that the final decision would not be reached "for a few days." He noted Kazakhstan's expanding involvement in multilateral organizations and said the IAEA Board of governors would be the logical next step, but stressed that the GOK still needed time to explore the support it has within the MESA group. He thanked us for the offer to work on Kazakhstan's behalf, saying KZ would certainly let us know should help be needed. Dudenov said that it would be hard to reach Foreign Minister Tazhin (who's on leave),but that he will do his utmost to get in touch with him and pass our message. Director of Multi-lateral Affairs Sadikov asked for our assessment of the positions of Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. In a subsequent follow up phone call, Sadikov repeated this request, and further asked for the U.S. position on Kazakhstan's entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). DCM replied he would ask Washington for responses on both issues. Also, in the course of the conversation, Dudenov gently raised the Common World Forum (to be hosted in Astana in October) and said Kazakhstan was hoping for high-level participation from the U.S. ¶3. (S) COMMENT: In asking about the MTCR and the Common World form, Kazakhstan is not attaching any conditions or asking for a tit-for-tat on their candidacy for the IAEA BOG. Nonetheless, it was clear that positive U.S. actions in these areas would be seen as a sign of mutual support between the United States and Kazakhstan. END COMMENT ORDWAY