TAJIKISTAN - REJECTING RUSSIAN RECOGNITION OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L DUSHANBE 001108 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2018 TAGS: PREL GG RU TI SUBJECT: TAJIKISTAN - REJECTING RUSSIAN RECOGNITION OF SOUTH OSSETIA AND ABKHAZIA AS INDEPENDENT STATES REF: STATE 91894 Classified By: Ambassador Tracey A. Jacobson, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) On August 27 Pol/Econ Chief delivered reftel demarche to MFA Director of North American and European Affairs (Assistant Secretary equivalent) Khusrav Nosiri. Nosiri could not offer a substantive reply, but said he would try to pass the substance of the demarche to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and to President Rahmon's Foreign Affairs Adviser, Erkin Rahmatulloev. Nosiri said it was difficult to contact any senior officials because of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit currently taking place in Dushanbe. ¶2. (C) In an earlier meeting Nosiri had commented that Tajikistan was unlikely to take any public stand on the conflict between Russia and Georgia. During this meeting he commented that Russia's recognition of South Ossetian and Abkhazian independence put Tajikistan in "a difficult position." Nosiri said that if Tajikistan were to follow Russia's lead and recognize the independence of these two entities, "we would have to recognize Kosovo too." Nosiri claimed ignorance of whether Russia had already requested that Tajikistan or other states recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia. When asked whether he agreed with the assertion by a Tajik newspaper that the conflict in Georgia had central Asian parallels, Nosiri referred to Samarkand and Bukhara's status as "historically Tajik" cities. But he doubted this issue would lead to overt conflict between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan anytime soon. ¶3. (C) Comment: Several heads of state are in Dushanbe for the SCO summit, and some will remain here until Friday, August 29 (including Russian president Medvedev, who will have a state visit that day). The Government's emphasis on lavish entertainments as a diplomatic strategy makes it unlikely that we will get any high level response before the Summit is over and the guests depart. We would be surprised if the Russian delegation wasn,t pushing, as we write, for some kind of joint statement on Georgia and its recognition of independence for South Ossetia and Abkazia. It is likely that the Central Asian participants in the Summit will be caught between an aggressive Russia and a more cautious China. We will report on any summit outcomes as soon as they are available. End Comment. JACOBSON