KAZAKHSTAN: RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR ON START TREATY,

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASTANA 000572 SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/RUS, S/SRAP E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/02/2019 TAGS: PREL KACT OSCE RS KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR ON START TREATY, EUROPEAN SECURITY TREATY REF: A. MOSCOW 0839 ¶B. SECSTATE 30048 ¶C. ASTANA 0557 Classified By: Ambassador Richard E. Hoagland: 1.4 (B),(D) ¶1. (C) The Ambassador hosted Russian Ambassador Mikhail Bocharnikov for a one-on-one lunch April 2. The Ambassador briefed Bocharnikov in detail on his March 24 meetings at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow with Deputy Foreign Minister Karasin and Director of the Third CIS Department Maksim Peshkov (ref A). The Ambassador emphasized that Presidents Obama and Medvedev, and Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Lavrov, have set the standard for a new era of reality-based diplomacy and transparency between our countries. Bocharnikov commented that he was very pleased with the Obama-Medvedev joint statements in London on April 1, characterizing them as sober, substantive, and realistic. START TREATY NEGOTIATIONS: KEEP KAZAKHSTAN IN THE LOOP ¶2. (C) Noting the Ambassador had met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev on March 30, Bocharnikov asked if Nazarbayev had complained that the new START Treaty would be bilateral between Russia and the United States, rather than also include the original signatories Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus. The Ambassador recounted that he had delivered points to Nazarbayev on U.S.-Russian plans to begin negotiations for a new START Treaty (ref B),and Nazarbayev had responded, "This is excellent. We fully support it. Please continue to keep us informed. If we can be helpful in any way, we will do so" (ref C). Bocharnikov said State Secretary Kanat Saudabayev had phoned him, worried that Kazakhstan was not being accorded full respect by being "cut out" of the new treaty, but had seemed satisfied when Bocharnikov explained it would be "illogical" for a non-nuclear state to be party to such a treaty. (NOTE: Saudabayev's Chief of Staff Roman Vassilenko made the same call to the Ambassador on March 31, and the Ambassador had given Vassilenko the same explanation Bocharnikov had given Saudabayev. END NOTE.) The Ambassador suggested that perhaps he and Bocharnikov should offer periodic joint briefings to senior Kazakhstani officials on the progress of the treaty negotiations. This would serve to keep Kazakhstan informed, and would demonstrate U.S.-Russian cooperation. Bocharnikov did not seem overly enthused but said he would pass the suggestion to Moscow. He added he was pleased Kazakhstan was being "reasonably civilized" about this, because he had read cables reporting that Ukraine was not at all pleased not to be included. PROPOSED EUROPEAN SECURITY TREATY DRAFT TO BE REVEALED AT OSCE IN JUNE ¶3. (C) Bocharnikov said Moscow was working on the draft text of its proposed European Security Treaty, and expected to reveal it late in June at the annual European Security Review Conference at the OSCE. He said FM Lavrov plans personally to present the draft and, thus, will request that the Review Conference be elevated to the Ministerial level. Bocharnikov said "the gist of the draft treaty will be 'hard security.' We are not too keen to encompass the other two OSCE baskets." ¶4. (C) COMMENT: This was the most relaxed and forthcoming we have seen Bocharnikov to date. He revealed a fondness for American movies, "but only the good ones, not the trash with special effects and lots of explosions." He said his Embassy plans to build a new Chief of Mission Residence on part of the large plot of land across the street to the east of the U.S. Embassy -- "something appropriate, at last, for Russian ambassadors" -- although he predicted he would never see it completed during his tenure. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND