CORRECTED COPY: DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON U.S. SPECIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAKU 000204 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/06/2018 TAGS: PREL OIC AJ SUBJECT: CORRECTED COPY: DEMARCHE DELIVERED ON U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE OIC Classified By: Pol/Econ Chief Joan Polaschik for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d ). ¶1. (U) This is a corrected version of Baku 00202. ¶2. (C) Poloff delivered reftel demarche to MFA OIC desk officer Elmar Alizada on March 4. Alizada was grateful for the information, noting that Deputy Foreign Minister Sadikov, who covers OIC issues, was interested in obtaining information about Sada Cumber. The Ambassador is also sending a letter to Foreign Minister Mammadyarov on Cumber's appointment. ¶3. (C) Poloff spoke with Alizada on March 6 about a requested bilateral meeting between Cumber and a GOAJ delegation representative on the sidelines of the OIC conference on arch 13-14. Alizada said Sadikov and Mammadyarov will both be at the summit, and he promised to raise this request with Sadikov. Alizada said he will let the Embassy know if Sadikov or Mammadyarov can meet with Cumber. The Embassy will convey any new information to the Department. ¶4. (C) Comment: Azerbaijan has been trying to play a moderating role within the OIC; last year, for example, the GOAJ hosted a large international conference on tolerance and the media. We believe Azerbaijan could play a helpful role in building mutual understanding and dialogue between the U.S. and the OIC. We invite Mr. Cumber to visit at his earliest convenience. DERSE