TURKMENISTAN: DIPLOMATIC POUCH ISSUE RESOLVED

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 000202

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2019
TAGS: PREL AGMT ADPM TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: DIPLOMATIC POUCH ISSUE RESOLVED

REF: A. STATE 9696

B. ASHGABAT 162

Classified By: Charge Richard Miles for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) On February 5, the Embassy was able to resolve a
contretemps regarding the diplomatic pouch that had started
two weeks before when the Customs Department at the Ashgabat
airport started to insist that the Embassy send diplomatic
notes in order to receive or send the diplomatic pouch. L
determined that this requirement by the Turkmenistan
Government was in contravention of Article 27(3) of the
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (Ref A). Charge
urged quick resolution to the problem during his February 2
meeting with Foreign Minister Meredov (Ref. B). Meredov
promised to go over the issue with the MFA Protocol
Department and seemed to understand the seriousness of the
matter.


2. (SBU) It was after this meeting that we started to see
some movement, although not "officially." The Acting Head of
Customs at the airport indicated to an Embassy FSN that "he
had never said that a diplomatic note was required" for the
Embassy to send and receive diplomatic pouches, even though
that was his position just a few days before. When we did
not get official confirmation from MFA February 5 that the
problem was solved (MGT called the Chief of Protocol, but he
claimed that no one had talked to him about resolution of the
issue),we sent over the diplomatic note (Ref A) that
outlined the U.S. position. Separately, IMO and an FSN went
out to the Customs Office at the airport to see if they could
get our mail. During the meeting, the Acting Head of Customs
at the airport called his superiors in the Central Customs
Office. Apparently, during the ten-minute phone call, he was
instructed to sign and stamp the way bills and release the
bags. The next day, the Embassy was able to send out a pouch
without a problem.

WHAT HAPPENED?


3. (C) COMMENT: It appears that a typically Turkmen problem
was solved in a typically Turkmen fashion. The new Acting
Head of Customs decided that the U.S. Embassyneeded to send
diplomatic notes to pick up their large bags, just like some
embassies (France, India, South Korea),but not others (UK,
Germany, UN). When queried,the Chief of Protocol sent word
to the DCM (with whom he is friendly) that the Customs Chief
was wrong and the Embassy did not have to send a note, but
reversed himself the next day after a meeting with an Embassy
officer, whom he does not know well. It took a meeting with
the Foreign Minister to get beyond the Chief of Protocol and
possibly to override the Acting Head of Customs at the
airport, who appears to have been told to release the bags by
his superiors. In the end, both the Acting Head of Customs
at the airport and the Chief of Protocol took stands that
allowed them not to lose face, but were irrelevant. The
Customs official swore he had never said a diplomatic note
was necessary, and the MFA Chief of Protocol insisted the
rule requiring dip notes still stood. Both were incorrect.


4. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: Yet, after all this, the Chief of
MFA's America's Department warned us that this resolution was
probably only good until new people replace the current ones
(like the Head of Customs at the airport). Then the issue
could surface again. Given the fact that we have seen
(presumably) long-resolved issues pop up again, sometimes
with the same players in place, we don't doubt this problem
could yet again resurface down the road. END COMMENT.
MILES