KAZAKHSTAN: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES BILATERAL CONSULTATIONS,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001468

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PREL KDEM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: AMBASSADOR DISCUSSES BILATERAL CONSULTATIONS,
ZHOVTIS, DIPLOMATIC PLATES WITH DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER

REFTEL: STATE80747


1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On September 2, the Ambassador met with Deputy
Foreign Minister Konstantin Zhigalov to present officially Under
Secretary Blake's proposal on Annual Bilateral Consultations.
Zhigalov responded that the government is quite pleased with this
mechanism but wants to ensure high-level participation from both
sides. The Ambassador emphasized the necessity of a free,
transparent, apolitical trial for human-rights activist Yevgeniy
Zhovtis who is accused of vehicular manslaughter. Zhigalov asked
the Ambassador to respond to the Foreign Ministry's diplomatic note
about an alleged misuse of diplomatic license plates. END SUMMARY.

ANNUAL BILATERAL CONSULTATIONS


3. (SBU) At the beginning of a September 2 meeting with Deputy
Foreign Minister Konstantin Zhigalov, the Ambassador pointed to his
stack of talking points and joked, "This is what happens when you
delay meeting with us. We have more and more work." Zhigalov said
that his serious back problem, which had led to the meeting's
repeated postponement, had improved, thanks to a good chiropractor.
The Ambassador passed Zhigalov the official letter and proposal for
Annual Bilateral Consultations (ABC, see reftel). [NOTE: We had
passed the proposal to Americas Director Askar Tazhiyev on September
1 because Zhigalov's extended foreign travel had prevented the
Ambassador from meeting with him before that date. END NOTE.] At
the Ambassador's request, Zhigalov undertook to prepare a detailed
list of what Kazakhstan would like included in the ABC's subgroups.


4. (SBU) Emphasizing form over substance, at least initially,
Zhigalov stated that the government wants a proposal on the level of
the head of each delegation, with potential options. For example,
Kazakhstan could send the Deputy Head of Presidential Administration
- Maulen Ashimbayev or someone less official, such as Human Rights
Ombudsman Askar Shakirov, for the human-dimension discussion.
Zhigalov also suggested that the technical meetings occur over a
period of six months, with the high-level consultation following
three months later. Recalling the phone conversations between
President Nazarbayev and the President and Vice President, Zhigalov
strongly recommended that Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister
Tazhin chair the ABC. The Ambassador said he would pass that
recommendation back to Washington. [COMMENT: Zhigalov is well
aware we have proposed that he and SCA Assistant Secretary Bob Blake
chair the ABC, but is pushing back because Secretary Clinton and
Foreign Minister Lavrov are chairing the U.S.-Russia Commission.
Since face matters here, we wonder if Clinton and Tazhin could be
the titular heads of Kazakhstan's ABC, while Blake and Zhigalov
would be the working heads? END COMMENT.]

YEVGENIY ZHOVTIS


5. (SBU) The Ambassador emphasized the importance of a fair,
transparent, non-politicized trial of human-rights activist Yevgeniy
Zhovtis. (NOTE: Zhovtis currently is being tried for manslaughter
in connection with an auto accident that occurred when he was
driving. END NOTE.) Zhigalov "totally agreed" that the process
must be transparent and that Zhovtis is a "serious person who is
widely respected in Kazakhstan and beyond." However, he added that
"it is international human rights groups who are politicizing the
issue." After an extended, back-and-forth disagreement on some of
the details of the case, the Ambassador again urged that this
high-profile case be conducted with utmost fairness and
transparency. He added, "In both politics and diplomacy, perception
is sometimes more important than reality." Zhigalov took the point
but said nothing further.

DIPLOMATIC PLATES, DIPLOMATIC NOTE


6. (SBU) Zhigalov said he had an "unpleasant matter" to raise and
urged the Ambassador to take seriously the Foreign Ministry's
diplomatic note protesting the alleged misuse of diplomatic license
plates during a recent incident in Almaty that involved a part-time

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LES on contract to NOAA. From the details Zhigalov cited, it seems
likely he was working from a talking point prepared from elsewhere
than the Foreign Ministry. The Ambassador responded that we do
indeed take this matter seriously but do not want to blow it out of
proportion at this time, and so we should deal with the simplest
parts of the issue first. He told Zhigalov the Embassy will respond
to the diplomatic note soonest. Zhigalov again stressed that the
Ambassador must "consider it carefully." [NOTE: This is an issue
about which we have kept the Department updated by e-mail and will
now report by front-channel septel. END NOTE.]

HOAGLAND