U.S. RAMP PROPOSAL FOR MANAS AIR BASE STILL ALIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 BISHKEK 000586

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL KG
SUBJECT: U.S. RAMP PROPOSAL FOR MANAS AIR BASE STILL ALIVE

REF: A. BISHKEK 499

B. BISHKEK 530

Classified By: Amb. Marie L. Yovanovitch, Reason 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. In meetings with the Prime Minister,
Defense Minister, Security Council Chairman, Presidential
Chief of Staff, and Presidential Economic Advisor, Ambassador
pressed the issue of the U.S. proposal to invest $30 million
in Manas Airport to build a ramp for coalition aircraft. All
Kyrgyz officials confirmed that no final government decision
has been made, although Prime Minister Chudinov listed a
number of longstanding, unresolved base-related issues that
raise questions in Kyrgyz minds about supporting the project.
Security Council Chairman Isakov also raised issues related
to rental of land. Presidential Chief of Staff Sadyrkulov
said he understood the value of the ramp in Byrgyzstan and
would work on how to frame the issue. End Summary.


2. (C) On June 5, Ambassador and DCM raised the proposed
construction of a ramp at Manas Air Base in separate meetings
with Prime Minister Chudinov, newly-appointed Minister of
Defense Kalyev, Presidential Economic Advisor Dikambayev, and
Presidential Chief of Staff Sadyrkulov. On June 6,
Ambassador and DCM met with newly appointed Security Council
Chairman (and former Minister of Defense) Isakov, and once
again with Sadyrdulov. In each meeting, the Ambassador
reviewed the significant economic benefits -- in jobs and
contracts -- of the $30 million construction program, and
assured interlocutors the project did not represent an
expansion of the base or an interest in establishing a
permanent facility at Manas. The Ambassador sought the
meetings in an effort to clarify earlier indications the
government was inclined to turn down the proposal (reftels).

Prime Minister: Ramp is not just an economic issue
--------------

3. (C) Prime Minister Chudinov noted that, from an economic
perspective, the proposed project appeared to offer many
benefits. But there were political and other aspects to
consider as well, he said. He told the Ambassador that he
had written a letter to President Bakiyev that listed several
issues of concern regarding the project raised. Chudinov
also indicated he had also transmitted these concerns to the
Security Council but had not received any response. (Note:
Embassy has not recieved the text of either letter.)

Other Issues of Concern
--------------

4. (C) Chudinov proceeded to outline the issues of concern:

-- Ecological concerns (a reference to incidents in prior
years related to fuel dumping);

-- "Previous Incidents" (a reference to the 2006 collision
and shooting incidents);

-- Carrying Weapons Off-Base (an apparent reference to
concerns that armed servicemen would be posted at the new
ramp. This is inaccurate; the ramp proposal would not entail
any changes in security policy.)

-- Payment for use of Radio Frequencies (this is an issue
that has not been raised since the time of the 2006 base
agreement talks. The Kyrgyz claim the base should pay for
use of the radio frequencies; this issue remained unresolved
in 2006.)

-- Concerns that the ramp was an expansion of the base and
was not consistent with the terms of the 2001 bilateral
agreement.

-- Issue of ownership of the land the ramp would be built
upon. Kyrgyz law does not allow foreigners to own land.

BISHKEK 00000586 002 OF 004


(Another misconception. The ramp proposal was for the
Ministry of Defense to consolidate leases for the land, which
the base would then lease from the Ministry.)

-- Revision of the bilateral agreement. The Kyrgyz had
proposed (in July 2006 and July 2007) making changes to the
agreement.

-- Other political issues. (Chudinov did not elaborate
these, but this could be a reference to concerns from Russia
or other neighbors about any base-related project.)

Chudinov: No Decision Made
--------------

5. (C) In conclusion, Chudinov said categorically that the
letters he sent raising these issues reflected his personal
views. He claimed there had never been a cabinet meeting to
discuss the project and that the government had not/not taken
a formal decision on the ramp. "After all," he explained,
"the government is me and my cabinet. We have not met on
this issue and have taken no decision on this."

Ambassador responds
--------------

6. (C) The Ambassador responded to each point Chudinov had
raised, explaining, for example, that there has been no fuel
dumping since 2005 and strict policies are in place to
prevent future incidents; that we had responded to the
proposal to change the bilateral agreement; and that base
personnel do not carry weapons off-base. Chudinov said it
would be helpful to have had some signed document attesting
to the policies the Ambassador mentioned; having an official
statement about the steps the base had taken on these issues
might have helped resolve these questions much earlier. He
also said it would be useful if the base could work with NGO
groups.


7. (C) When the Ambassador asked what the next step would
be regarding the ramp, Chudinov suggested meeting with the
National Security Council and noted he had not received a
response to his letter. The Ambassador said the Embassy is
ready to review in detail all the issues raised by the PM and
looked forward to working towards a position of resolution of
the ramp issue. Chudinov welcomed the Ambassador's
information that she would be meeting with the new Chairman
of the Security Council (former Defense Minister Isakov) on
June 6, and urged her to discuss the concerns he had outlined
with him. He agreed to consider additional information from
the U.S. side as the government examined this proposal.

Presidential Economic Advisor Dikambayev
--------------

8. (C) Earlier, Ambassador had raised the issue of the ramp
with Economic Advisor Dikinbayev, who appreciated the
information and took note of the size of the proposed
investment, and the $15-20 million we estimated would be
spent in Kyrgyzstan to construct the ramp. Dikambayev urged
the Ambassador to raise the issue with Sadyrkulov.

Presidential Chief of Staff Sadyrkulov
--------------

9. (C) The Ambassador met separately with Sadyrkulov
immediately following the meeting with Dikambayev.
Sadyrkulov was equally impressed with the economic benefits
of the ramp, and said he would look into the issue. When
Ambassador told him that we understood the Russians were
objecting to the project. Sadyrkulov shook his head and
said the Russians were behaving "very crudely" (grubo) in
this regard. The following day, June 6, Sadyrdulov told the
Ambassador he had already had several meetings regarding the
ramp and was determining how to present the issue.

Minister of Defense Kalyev
--------------

BISHKEK 00000586 003 OF 004



10. (C) Ambassador and DCM also met with newly appointed
Minister of Defense Kalyev. Turning to the ramp, the
Ambassador outlined the basic proposal, again citing the
large economic benefit of the project. Kalyev had already
been well briefed on the topic by his staff, and said he
appreciated the value of the project. He had not yet had
time to consider the issue in depth, however, but would do so
and would form an opinion. Inter alia, Kalyev also expressed
deep appreciation for all of the ongoing bilateral mil-mil
and security assistance projects underway with his Ministry
and pledged to continue our close cooperation on security
issues.

Security Council Chair Isakov
--------------

11. (C) Isakov responded to the Ambassador's request to
discuss the ramp by asking whether, as he understood, the
Prime Minister had confirmed that it was a government
decision not to approve the ramp. The Ambassador explained
that, to the contrary, the Prime Minister had said no
government decision or even discussion had occurred, and that
the Prime Minister was awaiting a response to his letter to
the Security Council raising questions about the project.
Isakov, who was appointed less than two weeks ago, said he
was unaware of a letter from the Prime Minister. He
reiterated that the ramp was an issue for the government, not
the Security Council, to decide. Specifically, he said the
Prime Minister, a Vice Prime Minister, and the Minister of
Transportation had the lead in considering the ramp. At the
Ambassador's urging, he, nevertheless, agreed to discuss the
issue with the Prime Minister.


12. (C) Acknowledging the economic benefits of the
proposal, he said he was aware that some officials had raised
concerns about the lack of closure on the U.S. investigation
into the 2006 shooting incident, and about the level of rent
paid by the base for the land it leased. Isakov claimed that
in the recently concluded agreement with Russia on its
military bases, the Russians rented land at the rate of $0.50
per square meter per year, which he claimed was consistent
with Kyrgyz law. Isakov said that parliamentarians had said
the U.S. pays a lower rate than this. The Ambassador
responded that U.S. rates are based on prevailing market
rates, and that this issue had arisen during the 2006 base
agreement renewal talks. At the time, the U.S. increased its
direct compensation to the government to $17.4 million per
year, precisely to offset such other costs and services the
U.S. could not meet directly. Isakov, surprisingly, seemed
genuinely unaware of these direct transfers, and suggested
that we provide this information, and other details related
to the ramp project, directly to the Prime Minister.

Comment
--------------

13. (C) Our assessment is that the initial negative
decision transmitted by then-Security Council Chair Mamytov
was not fully coordinated and is not set in concrete.
However, Mamytov would not have sent the letter unless he
felt he was empowered to do so. We surmise that either
President Bakiyev, or more likely his brother Janysh, who is
widely rumored to be the real commander-in-chief, authorized
Mamytov to provide us the negative reponse on the ramp.


14. (C) The Prime Minister was clearly irritated that
Mamytov had spoken for the government and wanted to make it
crystal clear to us that no government decision had been
taken. However, he also raised issues that remain
significant to the Kyrgyz. It is also clear that neither the
Prime Minister nor the Security Council want to take
responsibility for this issue, and each is trying to throw
this hot potato to the other. Both also appear to have
significant misunderstandings about the project. We, never
the less, believe we are getting some traction on the
significant economic investment the project entails. Chief

BISHKEK 00000586 004 OF 004


of Staff Sadyrkulov's interest in the issue bodes well, and
his comment that he needed to figure out how to "frame" the
issue, indicates to us that he wants to take this further,
probably to the President himself. We will continue to
pursue this at senior levels in an effort to get a positive
answer, but must note that we face an uphill battle: we know
the Russians oppose the project, and Mamytov's letter
indicates an effort by some in the GOKG to try to kill the
proposal.
YOVANOVITCH