KAZAKHSTAN: MFA OFFICIAL SAYS FM TAZHIN WILL BE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000264

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, IO, ISN, INR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/13/2034
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR ECON KNNP OSCE IAEA KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: MFA OFFICIAL SAYS FM TAZHIN WILL BE
REPLACED IN THE COMING MONTHS

REF: A. ASTANA-ALMATY O-I EMAIL FEBRUARY 11 (NOTAL)

B. ASTANA-ALMATY O-I EMAIL FEBRUARY 10 (NOTAL)

C. ASTANA 0090

Classified By: Ambassador Richard E. Hoagland, 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Former MFA Americas Department Director
Talgat Kaliyev told Pol-Econ Chief on February 12 that
Foreign Minister Tazhin will be replaced in the coming
months. Kaliyev explained that he has been appointed to be
Tazhin's advisor on OSCE issues. He said that Kazakhstan
intends to pursue a seat on the IAEA Board of Governors. He
reported that the government has drastically cut funding for
government travel and furniture and vehicle purchases. END
SUMMARY.

TAZHIN OUT WITHIN SEVERAL MONTHS


2. (C) Former MFA Americas Department Director Talgat
Kaliyev told Pol-Econ Chief on February 12 that Foreign
Minister Tazhin will leave his current position in the coming
months -- i.e., before Kazakhstan assumes the chairmanship of
the OSCE. He reminded Pol-Econ Chief that Tazhin has worked
on domestic issues for much of his career and said that
Tazhin's next government assignment would likely have a
domestic focus. (NOTE: Tazhin has served two stints
(1995-99 and 2002-06) as deputy head of the Presidential
Administration, as well as two stints as secretary of the
Security Council (1999-2001, 2006-07). He also headed the
National Security Committee (KNB) for six months in 2001.
END NOTE.) Kaliyev did not offer any hints about who will be
named to succeed Tazhin.

KALIYEV'S NEW ASSIGNMENT


3. (C) Kaliyev provided more details about his own new
assignment and, as he put it, the "intrigues" that led to it
(see refs A and B). According to Kaliyev, on February 10,
Tazhin called him in to explain that he was out as MFA
Americas Department head and would be sent to Vienna as
minister-counselor to work primarily on OSCE issues, since
Tazhin needed an experienced hand there with Kazakhstan's
OSCE chairmanship looming on the horizon. Kaliyey was not
happy with the proposed new assignment, because he had
already served as minister-counselor and DCM in Washington,
and his son had just been admitted to a very prestigious
"intellectual school" in Astana opened in January by
President Nazarbayev (see ref C). (COMMENT: Alluding to the
Rakhat Aliyev case, Pol-Econ Chief suggested to Kaliyev that
the Vienna job might also involve some "very delicate
issues." Kaliyev responded that he had made it a point to
stay away from such issues, and hence this was yet one more
reason not to go to Vienna. END COMMENT.)


4. (C) However, the following day, February 11, Tazhin
backtracked, and agreed to keep Kaliyev at the MFA in Astana,
appointing him to be his advisor on OSCE issues. Kaliyev
immediately moved upstairs to an office near Tazhin's on the
MFA's top floor. Kaliyev explained to PolOff that he hoped
to continue to have close contact with the U.S. government in
his new role, explaining that the Embassy is welcome in
particular to bring to his direct attention any issues
touching on the OSCE, including Kazakhstani human rights
cases. His successor as MFA Americas Department head is
Askar Tazhiyev, who up until now was an MFA
ambassador-at-large covering OSCE issues, and who served with
Kaliyev at the Kazakhstani Embassy in Washington, ultimately
succeeding Kaliyev as minister-counselor and DCM when Kaliyev
returned to Astana in 2007.

KAZAKHSTAN WILL PURSUE IAEA BOG SEAT


5. (C) Kaliyev informed Pol-Econ Chief that Kazakhstan
intends to pursue a seat on the IAEA Board of Governors (BOG)
at the next available opportunity. (NOTE: In 2008, we
initially lobbied the Kazakhstanis to run against Syria for
the open Middle East-South Asia (MESA) group seat on the IAEA
BOG. We later asked them to step back in favor of

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Afghanistan, after it became clear that many MESA group
members did not recognize Kazakhstan as a member of their
group. END NOTE.) He also said that Kazakhstan wants to
become more involved in the IAEA's nuclear fuel bank
initiative.

GOVERNMENT BELT-TIGHTENING


6. (C) Pol-Econ Chief asked Kaliyev about the impact of
budget cuts necessitated by the shortfall in government
revenues. Kaliyev reported that while the government remains
committed to maintaining spending on social programs, it has
drastically reduced expenditures on the government
bureaucracy, including funding for government travel and for
furniture and vehicle purchases. According to Kaliyev, for
now, Prime Minister Masimov has to personally sign off on all
government travel.


7. (C) COMMENT: Kaliyev played a critical role in our
bilateral relationship as MFA Americas Department head. He
carried a lot of water for us in trying to get the
Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) agreement ratified, and
recently worked to negotiate a "deal" on the criminal case
against Peace Corps Volunteer Anthony Sharp, whose trial is
on-going. It is not exactly clear to us whether Kaliyev has
been promoted or demoted, and why, if he is staying in
Astana, he was simply not allowed to retain his old job --
which probably would have been his preference. This might
mean that someone wanted him off the U.S. account, perhaps
because of the perception he was getting too close to us.
And, as far as we can tell, an MFA department head's
follow-on overseas assignment should be as an ambassador, not
as a minister-counselor. Canadian Ambassador Margaret Skok
recently passed along a rumor to the Ambassador that Kaliyev
had, in fact, been considered by the MFA as a candidate to
become Kazakhstan's new ambassador to Ottawa, but was
rejected because of "a serious cocaine habit." Frankly, we
ourselves haven't seen any evidence of this. However,
Kaliyev did quietly approach us several weeks ago to ask that
we try to steer contracts for U.S. military supplies to
Afghanistan to his brother Almaz's company in Almaty,
explaining that this would help both of them. He had never
previously made such a request to us that was unrelated to
his official duties. END COMMENT.

HOAGLAND