Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ASTANA1774
2008-09-15 11:22:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Astana
Cable title:  

KAZAKHSTANIS TELL NATO THEY WANT TO ENHANCE

Tags:  PREL PGOV NATO KZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2903
PP RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHTA #1774 2591122
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 151122Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3299
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNCLS/SCA COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2235
C O N F I D E N T I A L ASTANA 001774 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTANIS TELL NATO THEY WANT TO ENHANCE
AFGHANISTAN COOPERATION

Classified By: Pol-Econ Chief Steven Fagin, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASTANA 001774

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTANIS TELL NATO THEY WANT TO ENHANCE
AFGHANISTAN COOPERATION

Classified By: Pol-Econ Chief Steven Fagin, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) NATO Deputy Secretary General Claudio Bisogniero held
meetings in Astana on September 11 with Defense Minister
Akhmetov, Foreign Minister Tazhin, Security Council Secretary
Suleymenov, and officials from the Ministry of Emergency
Situations. In a readout he gave to resident NATO-country
ambassadors, Bisogniero explained that he had very positive
meetings with his Kazakhstani government interlocutors that
exceeded his expectations.


2. (C) Bisogniero stressed to the ambassadors that his visit
-- apparently the highest-level NATO visit to Kazakhstan ever
-- was not connected to the Georgia conflict, but rather had
been arranged before it. He said that he had stressed three
points in his meetings with the Kazakhstanis. First, NATO
views Kazakhstan as the key country in the Central Asia
region. Second, NATO looks forward to enhanced engagement
with Central Asia, despite the events in Georgia. Third,
Kazakhstan can have good relations with both Russia and NATO.
This last point, Bisongiero maintained, helped dispel
Kazakhstani misgivings.


3. (C) Foreign Minister Tazhin told Bisongiero that
Kazakhstan appreciated NATO's role in ensuring Afghan
security and stability and is eager to become a stronger
partner with NATO in Afghanistan. Defense Minister Akhmetov
said that Kazakhstan is willing to deploy two officers to
ISAF headquarters in Afghanistan, as well as medics to a
Slovak medical unit stationed there. Akhmetov promised to
assist in moving forward the NATO-Kazakhstan transit
agreement for the Northern GLOC, which, he explained, fell
under the purview of the Ministry of Transport and
Communications, rather than the Ministry of Defense. Tazhin
expressed consternation at the fact that NATO hashed out a
transit agreement with Russia first, and only approached
Kazakhstan later. This gave the misimpression that
Kazakhstan did not want to be helpful on Afghanistan and had
to be dragged along through a fait accompli between NATO and
Russia.


4. (SBU) Ministry of Emergency Situations officials told
Bisogniero that they wanted increased cooperation with NATO's
Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC).
They also requested NATO assistance in enhancing their
capability to respond to oil rig disasters. Bisogniero
promised the Ministry that he would look into this.


5. (SBU) Bisogniero reminded the NATO-country ambassadors
that in June 2009, there would be meetings in Kazakhstan of
the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) Security Forum
and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. These would be
important opportunities to further increase NATO-Kazakhstan
cooperation.
MILAS