AZERBAIJAN: WILLING TO ASSUME GREATER TRANSPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAKU 000409

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/19/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL AJ
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: WILLING TO ASSUME GREATER TRANSPORT
SERVICES TO AFGHANISTAN

Classified By: CDA DLU, for reasons 1.4 (b,d)

AZERBAIJAN: WILLING TO ASSUME GREATER TRANSPORT SERVICES TO
AFGHANISTAN


1. (C) Summary. On April 28, U.S. TRANSCOM Commander General
McNabb met with Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov to
discuss the status of Northern Distribution Network (NDN).
Azimov focused on Russia's reaction to NDN activities and
wondered aloud if there was a risk in using Georgia as a
transit country. Azimov expressed concern with an ability to
control containers leaving Afghanistan, as Soviet experience
showed that there had been a high profit incentive for Soviet
officers to fill returning cargo shipment with contraband and
narcotics. General McNabb later met with Deputy Minister of
Transportation Ziya Mammadov, who stated that Azerbaijan has
greater rail and waterway transport capacity for TRANSCOM's
use. Baku Port Director Elchin Mirzayev said he is looking
forward to more business for the port due to large scale
reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. End Summary

AZIMOV SKEPTICAL ON GEORGIA AS TRANSIT POINT, CONCERNED ABOUT
RETURNING CONTAINERS FROM AFGHANISTAN
--------------


2. (C) Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov, meeting April 28
with U.S. TRANSCOM Commander General McNabb, expressed
concern about instability within Georgia and cited Russia's
ability to damage transit infrastructure, based on the August
2008 conflict. General McNabb assured Azimov that Georgia is
not a problem for the Northern Distribution Network (NDN) and
that the U.S. considers the Georgia-Azerbaijan route as one
of several transit options available.


3. (C) Azimov, who was an interpreter for the Soviet ARMY in
Afghanistan in the late 1970s, also relayed concerns about
the inability to control shipment containers from
Afghanistan. Drawing on the Soviet experience in that
country, Azimov said Soviet officers would fill returning
containers with opium that garnered high profits within the
former Soviet Union, while also contributing to the heroine
addition that continues to plague Russia today. Azimov
hinted that the U.S. could unwittingly add to the narcotics
trafficking problem due to lack of control over the supply
route exit Afghanistan.

MAMMADOV: "ALL INFRASTRUCTURE" AT TRANSCOM'S DISPOSAL
-------------- --------------


4. (C) In a very cordial meeting, General McNabb noted to
Minister of Transportation Ziya Mammedov that of the eleven
countries now involved in the NDN transport plan, Azerbaijan
had been the first to say "yes." Half of the 200 non-lethal
containers that the USG had recently sent to Afghanistan had
passed through Azerbaijan, and that no problems with
transport or customs clearance had been reported. The United
States appreciates the cooperation of Azerbaijan on this
front, including Baku's willingness to host a logistics
conference, based on NDN, last fall. The USG, he said, is
still looking for additional opportunities to move cargo
through Azerbaijan and procure some goods locally, based on
initial success.


5. (C) Minister Mammadov noted that President Aliyev had
instructed him to modernize facilities and infrastructure --
a task that would be difficult and expensive. Mammedov said
that cargo volumes of 5 million metric tons per year could be
increased, and pledged to implement transportation
improvements to increase capacity to 30,000 containers per
year. Azerbaijan also plans to complete a new commercial
port at Alat, 70 kilometers south of Baku. Mammadov said
that eight rail ferries were currently operating at 80
percent capacity and moving 40-50 million metric tons of
goods per year.

WAITING FOR THE US TO COME BACK
--------------


6. (C) Baku Port Director Elchin Mirzayev said to General
McNabb that he has waited six years for the U.S. "to come
back" and reported that the port stands ready to receive more
containers. Mirzayev, who shares logistics responsibilities
with military colleagues, said the port has seen increased
volume despite the economic downturn and attributes this to
more products coming from Iran and greater volumes of trade
in oil-related goods with Kazakhstan. Mirzayev looks forward
to large scale reconstruction in Afghanistan bringing more
business to Baku Port.

BAKU 00000409 002 OF 002




7. (C) General McNabb did not have the opportunity to review
this cable before he left Baku.
LU