KAZAKHSTAN: MFA DIPLOMATIC NOTE CONFIRMS GOVERNMENT'S

UNCLAS ASTANA 000091 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR AF KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: MFA DIPLOMATIC NOTE CONFIRMS GOVERNMENT'S APPROVAL OF TRANSIT OF GOODS FOR AFGHANISTAN ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) The Embassy has received a diplomatic note from the Kazakhstani Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming the government's approval of the transit of non-military goods for Afghanistan shipped through the Distribution Network of Operation Enduring Freedom (DNOEF). A translation of the full text of the note is in para 3. ¶3. (SBU) BEGIN TEXT Diplomatic Note 22-1/75 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan expresses its compliments to the Embassy of the United States of America and in response to the Embassy's diplomatic note of December 11, 2008, has the honor to inform that Kazakhstan expresses its consent to the transit of commercial cargo of non-military purpose through the territory of Kazakhstan to Afghanistan, excluding the goods and materials noted in Enclosure 1 of the above-referenced diplomatic note. (NOTE: For the sake of clarity, this was the enclosure in our December 11, 2008 diplomatic note which listed the military goods, such as ammunition, that we promised we would not ship through Kazakhstan. END NOTE.) The Ministry avails itself of this occasion to renew to the Embassy the assurances of its highest consideration. Astana, January 14, 2009 END TEXT HOAGLAND