AMBASSADOR LUNCH WITH KYRGYZ FOREIGN MINISTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000543

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL KG
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR LUNCH WITH KYRGYZ FOREIGN MINISTER

REF: A. STATE 55334

B. BISHKEK 521

C. BISHKEK 516

D. TASHKENT 823

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Classified By: Ambassador Tatiana C. Gfoeller, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: During a wide-ranging June 1 lunch
conversation, the Ambassador previewed for Foreign Minister
Sarbayev the message that President Obama will be delivering
to Muslims worldwide in his upcoming speech in Cairo (Ref A).
Sarbayev reacted positively to the fact that the President
would be addressing relations with the Muslim world.
Sarbayev said he thought that Kyrgyzstan would reach an
accommodation with the OSCE over the number of monitors for
the July 23 Presidential election (Ref B),but he said
Kyrgyzstan would support Russian efforts to "reform" the OSCE
to focus more on security and economic development and less
on democracy. As he has done frequently in the past,
Sarbayev also complained about Uzbekistan's actions with
regard to water and border issues. End Summary.

Previewing the President's Speech
--------------


2. (C) Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbayev invited the
Ambassador to lunch at a local restaurant on June 1. The
Ambassador used the occasion to preview for Sarbayev that
President Obama will make a major speech in Cairo on June 4
to deliver a message about U.S. relations with the Muslim
world. Sarbayev reacted positively, stating that it was a
very good step for the President to address relations with
the broader Muslim world.

Complaining about the OSCE
--------------


3. (C) Sarbayev said that the work of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) should be focused
on security issues and economic development, not on "internal
politics." Sarbayev, who had earlier complained to the
Ambassador that the report of the OSCE/ODIHR Needs Assessment
Mission report had (negatively) "pre-judged" the conduct of
the July 23 Presidential election, claimed that the Kyrgyz
government was not unduly limiting the number of
international observers.


4. (C) Sarbayev noted that the government had invited the
OSCE to send 150 observers as the ODIHR Election Monitoring
Mission and another 150 for the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
monitoring effort; he added that the OSCE could work out the
division between the two groups. (Note: The OSCE/ODIHR
Needs Assessment report had recommended the deployment of a
standard Election Observation Mission, with 24 long-term
observers and 300 short-term observes. The ODIHR mission is
separate from any OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation.
End Note.) In general, Sarbayev said that between Embassies
and other international organizations, such as the SCO,
Kyrgyzstan has already issued invitations to more than 1,000
election observers: "this is too much for a small country as
ours -- we risk being overwhelmed!"


5. (C) Sarbayev lamented that there were OSCE funds available
to support election monitoring, but "no money" for economic
development and security -- "even though 'security' is even
in the name of the organization!". He said he appreciated
the work of OSCE Ambassador Tesoriere in Bishkek, but the
"problem" with OSCE priorities came from Vienna. Sarbayev
said Kyrgyzstan would support Russia's initiatives to
"reform" the OSCE to get the organization to focus more on
security and economic issues. Sarbayev said he believed that
the Kazakh OSCE Presidency would be supportive of Russia's
efforts in this direction. He also claimed that there were
"good indications" that Kazakhstan would focus more on "water

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and security issues" and "bring Central Asian concerns --
which have been woefully neglected -- to the fore in
general."

Complaining about Uzbekistan
--------------


6. (C) Turning to a familiar theme, Sarbayev complained about
relations with Uzbekistan and warned that "the situation in
Central Asia could explode." Sarbayev claimed that
Uzbekistan was becoming "dictatorial" with regard to water
issues, and he criticized alleged Uzbek intransigence at the
recent meeting in Dushanbe between the EU Troika and the
Central Asian states (a meeting he otherwise dismissed as a
"useless . . . pro-forma talking shop."). The Ambassador
pointed out that following the apparent terrorist attacks in
Khanabad near the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border (Ref D),Uzbek
officials, including the Uzbek Ambassador in Kyrgyzstan, were
saying that Kyrgyzstan cannot control its borders (Ref C).
Sarbayev disputed that weak Kyrgyz border controls were to
blame for allowing terrorists to launch attacks in Khanabad,
saying that the perpetrators were "all Uzbeks." Sarbayev
worried that Uzbekistan would use the attacks as a pretext
for "taking control" -- first of Kyrgyz borders and
eventually of its water resources, claiming that the Kyrgyz
were unable to protect them.

Comment
--------------


7. (C) Sarbayev apparently sees little value for Kyrgyzstan
in having robust international monitoring efforts for the
July 23 Presidential election. In addition to limiting the
number of OSCE monitors, the MFA has limited the number of
observers that embassies and other organizations can deploy
-- the Embassy received a Diplomatic Note inviting us to
register ten observers.
GFOELLER