INFORMATION ON RUSSIA'S AFGHANISTAN POLICY MAKERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 MOSCOW 001525

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2019
TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL AF RS
SUBJECT: INFORMATION ON RUSSIA'S AFGHANISTAN POLICY MAKERS
(C-RE9-00858)

REF: A. STATE 42846

B. MOSCOW 1436

Classified By: Acting Political M/C David Kostelancik for reasons 1.4 (
b/d).


1. (C) In response to ref A request for information on
Russian leaders with influence on GOR Afghan policy, we have
provided profiles of MFA officials involved in Russian policy
toward Afghanistan. Of the MFA officials listed below, we
classify the following as experts on Afghanistan: Aleksandr
Maryasov, Director, MFA Second Asia Department; Ali
Mustafabeli, Deputy Director, MFA Second Asia Department;
Yuri Khokhlov, former Chief of the Afghanistan Section, MFA
Second Asia Department (now working on Putin's foreign policy
staff); Zamir Kabulov, Ambassador to Afghanistan; and Maksim
Peshkov, Director, MFA Third Asia Department. Those working
on U.S.-Russia bilateral relations or European cooperation
issues are involved in Afghan policy as it relates to the
NATO transit agreement and other areas of Russian cooperation
with the U.S. and NATO. The fact that the February 10-11
U.S.-Russia consultations on Afghanistan, and the May 27
discussions on a lethal transit agreement, were organized by
the European Cooperation Department and North America
Department, respectively, appears to confirm our
understanding that the GOR views cooperation with the U.S.
and NATO to stabilize Afghanistan through the prism of our
bilateral relationship.


2. (C) The unclassified information listed below is taken
from MFA biographies. We have added our assessments of MFA
officials' level of involvement in formulating GOR Afghan
policy and their attitude toward cooperating with the U.S.
and NATO.

AFGHANISTAN AND CENTRAL ASIA

Aleksey Borodavkin - Deputy Foreign Minister
--------------


3. (U) Aleksey Nikolaevich Borodavkin.
- Born in 1950.
- 1973, graduated from Moscow State Institute of
International Relations (MGIMO).
- 1975, joined the MFA.
- 1982-1993, worked in various MFA offices and overseas posts.
- 1993-1997, Counselor, then DCM, Russian Embassy in Thailand.
- 1998, Deputy Director, MFA First CIS Department
(multilateral organizations in the former Soviet space).
- 1999-2002, Deputy Director, MFA Fourth CIS Department
(Caucasus).
- 2002-2004, Ambassador, Russian Embassy in the Slovak
Republic.
- 2004-2008, Permanent Representative to the OSCE.
- 2008-present, Deputy Foreign Minister with responsibility
for the First Asia Department (East Asia),Second Asia
Department (South Asia),Asia-Pacific Region Department
(Southeast Asia),and Asian Issues Department (multilateral
organizations).
- Married, three children.


4. (C) Borodavkin is the senior MFA official responsible for
Afghanistan and South Asia, although he is considered a
foreign policy generalist rather than a regional expert. We
understand that Borodavkin may head the Russian side during
the next bilateral consultations with the U.S. on
Afghanistan. In recent meetings with U.S. officials,
Borodavkin has cited a new, positive atmosphere regarding
Afghanistan, and stressed the need to quickly take advantage
of what he termed the "drive" within the Russian leadership
to forge closer cooperation with the U.S. on this issue.
These exchanges stand in contrast to previous meetings, when
Borodavkin expressed the GOR's dissatisfaction with the U.S.
response to Russian offers of assistance, particularly the
Russian proposal for the Collective Security Treaty
Organization to cooperate with NATO as a means to halt
narcotics trafficking and the spread of terrorism to Central
Asia. Borodavkin has expressed skepticism about U.S.
democracy goals in Afghanistan, urging Washington to assert
greater control of the presidential elections, for example.
Despite the GOR's focus on Afghanistan as it relates to
security in Central Asia, the former Soviet republics in this
region do not come under Borodavkin but DFM Grigoriy Karasin,
who is responsible for the CIS.

Aleksandr Maryasov - Director, MFA Second Asia Department
-------------- --------------


5. (U) Aleksandr Georgiyevich Maryasov.

MOSCOW 00001525 002 OF 005


6. (C) Maryasov has been an able interlocutor with visiting
U.S. and Embassy officials on issues regarding Afghanistan
and Iran. He has been supportive of Russian engagement with
the U.S. on Afghanistan and the possibility of enhanced
Russian assistance to Kabul. Maryasov has demonstrated
skepticism regarding U.S. claims of success in Afghanistan,
and appears, along with several of his MFA colleagues, to
believe the U.S. naive in pursuing reconciliation with the
Taliban. Unlike some of his colleagues, however, Maryasov
has used dispassionately diplomatic language to convey this.
Judging by Maryasov's background, he is more expert on Iran
than Afghanistan, although he and his department weigh
heavily in directing bilateral relations with Kabul.
Maryasov and the staff of his Department are appreciated by
foreign diplomats for their openness and accessibility, in
contrast to other MFA departments that are notoriously
difficult to work with. We understand that Maryasov will
leave his position soon to become Russian Ambassador to
Thailand, which one MFA official referred to as his
"retirement tour."

Ali Mustafabeli - Deputy Director, MFA Second Asia Department
-------------- --------------


7. (U) Ali Mitkhadovich Mustafabeli
- Served at the Russian Embassy in Iran.
- Speaks Farsi and English.
- Additional biographic information will be reported septel.


8. (C) With responsibility for the MFA Afghanistan and Iran
sections, Mustafabeli has been a regular Embassy contact who
has made himself and his staff available to discuss a variety
of issues related to Russia's relations with these key
countries. He has remarked about being overloaded with work,
and expressed relief that his brief does not include
additional issues such as the ISAF transit agreement, which
is handled by the European Cooperation Department responsible
for NATO issues. Apparently supportive of closer cooperation
with the U.S., Mustafabeli has not shied away from expressing
his incredulity at what he believes are exaggerated U.S.
claims of success in Afghanistan, as well as what he views as
U.S. naivet regarding Afghan national reconciliation and the
1267 delisting process. Mustafabeli posed several tough
questions to the U.S. delegation during the February
bilateral consultations, and appeared to mentally tune out of
the meeting after failing to receive what he considered
adequately frank responses. Mustafabeli has suggested that
the U.S. previously pressured the Afghans not to accept
Russian offers of assistance, and said it was "your loss" if
the U.S. and NATO did not work with the CSTO. Despite his
sometimes tart tongue, Mustafabeli has distanced the GOR from
some of the more outrageous comments made by the often
incendiary Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov,
and other GOR officials. Of note is the fact that
Mustafabeli is a Russian Muslim, probably non-Slavic, working
in a ministry dominated by Slavs, some of whom may be
nominally Orthodox Christian.

Yuri Khokhlov - former Chief, Afghanistan Section, MFA Second
Asia Department
-------------- --------------


9. (U) Yuri Aleksandrovich Khokhlov.
- 1992, graduated from the Military Institute, where he
trained as a military interpreter for Farsi and English.
- 1992, resigned from the Russian Army after serving only
three months and joined the MFA.
- 1992-1998, served at the Russian Embassy in Iran.
- 1998-2008, worked at the MFA Second Asia Department,
including as Afghanistan Section Chief.
- 2009-present, deputy to Putin's foreign policy advisor,
Ambassador Yuri Ushakov.
- Speaks Farsi and English.
- Married, one child. Has two children from a previous
marriage.


MOSCOW 00001525 003 OF 005



10. (C) Khokhlov left the MFA in January 2009 to join Putin's
foreign policy staff led by former Russian Ambassador to the
U.S. Yuri Ushakov (ref B). We were surprised by this move,
considering that Khokhlov was a hard charger at the MFA, and
appeared to enjoy the level of influence he had there on
Afghan policy. Khokhlov served as Secretary of the GOR
interagency consultative group on Afghanistan, answering
directly to its Chair, FM Lavrov, and was in regular contact
with Russian Ambassador Kabulov, with whom he is on a first
name basis. Kholkhov is considered an excellent Farsi
speaker, and served as Medvedev's interpreter during meetings
with Presidents Karzai and Ahmadinijead in 2008. He is a
major proponent of closer Russian cooperation with the U.S.
on Afghan stabilization, and originated the idea for a small
Russian delegation to travel to Washington to discuss
potential Russian military assistance to Kabul, which evolved
into the February 2009 bilateral consultations in Moscow.


11. (C) Khokhlov's permanent replacement has yet to be named,
and the Afghan Section has been led by Second Secretary
Vitaliy Rugalyov, who served for over two years at the
Russian Embassy in Kabul before returning to the MFA to work
for the past four years in the Afghanistan Section. Rugalyov
has proven to be an excellent contact, providing us with
details of the inner-workings of the MFA and GOR in regards
to Afghanistan policy. He is married and expects his first
child lNV2Xv&xaQmBm7QrQov is well disposed toward the
U.S., and told us that he has a sister currently studying
medicine at Yale on a scholarship.

Zamir Kabulov - Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan
-------------- --------------


12. (U) Zamir Nubiyevich Kabulov.
- Born in 1]Qn
CQQ1-1992, Counselor at the Soviet, then Russian, Embassy
in Afghanistan. Moved to the Russian Embassy in Pakistan
after the Mujahadin took control of Kabul and the Embassy
there was shut.
- In 1995, Kabulov took part in talks with the Taliban in an
attempt to secure the release of the crew of a Russian plane
that was forced to land in Kandahar. He reportedly met with
Taliban leader Mohammed Omar.
- 1996-1998, served as a senior political advisor to a
special UN mission for Afghanistan based in Pakistan.
- 1998-2004, Deputy Director, MFA Third Asia Department,
which then handled South Asia, and served as special MFA
representative during the 2001 Bonn talks on Afghanistan.
- 2004-present, Ambassador to Afghanistan.
- Speaks Farsi and English.


13. (U) Kabulov has been a persistent critic of U.S. and NATO
efforts in Afghanistan, going so far as to accuse the U.S.
military of involvement in narcotics trafficking during a
2008 interview. He also agreed with comments made by the
head of the Russian anti-drug trafficking agency (FSKN)
Viktor Ivanov, who said that the U.S. and NATO were to blame
for the rise in Afghan heroin going to Russia. Kabulov has
criticized NATO strategy for failing to take into account the
interests of Afghanistan and its neighbors. He said NATO had
repeated the Soviets' mistakes in Afghanistan, particularly
by increasing the number of foreign troops in the country
when it should focus on economic reconstruction and
rebuilding Afghan security forces.


14. (C) Kabulov provided the MFA with what he claimed was
evidence that U.S. military advisors in Kabul were sowing
suspicion of Russia and advising the Afghans not to work with
the GOR on counter-narcotics training or accept military
assistance. Kabulov's personal knowledge of leading figures
in Afghanistan, including Taliban, has given him great sway
within the MFA, which he advises to be wary of national
reconciliation efforts.


15. (C) We understand that Kabulov will soon leave his
position to become Director of the MFA Second Asia
Department. While Kabulov's previous criticism of the U.S.
suggests that this move could complicate our cooperation on
Afghanistan, we believe that the MFA's policy to enhance
engagement with the U.S. on this issue has already been set.


Maksim Peshkov - Director, MFA Third CIS Department
-------------- --------------

MOSCOW 00001525 004 OF 005




16. (U) Maksim Aleksandrovich Peshkov.
- Born in 1950.
- 1972, graduated from MGIMO and joined in the MFA.
- 1972-1975, Attache, Soviet Consulate in Resht, Iran.
- 1981-1985 Second Secretary, Soviet Embassy in Afghanistan.
- 1991-1992, Counselor, Russian Embassy in Afghanistan.
- 1994-2000, Section Chief, then Deputy Director, MFA Third
CIS Department.
- 2000-2005, Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan.
- 2005-present, Director, MFA Third CIS Department (Central
Asia).
- Speaks Farsi and English.
- Grandson of Soviet writer Maxim Gorky.


17. (C) The extent of Peshkov's role in MFA deliberations on
Afghanistan is unclear, although with responsibility for the
former Soviet states that border Afghanistan, he is likely
weighing in on the issue. Peshkov balances a concern with
the threat Afghanistan presents to Central Asian stability
with what Russia sees as a need to keep an eye on the U.S.
presence in the region. When asked by a senior U.S. official
about Russia's role in Bishkek's decision to close the Manas
airbase, Peshkov commented that the U.S. use of assets such
as Manas must be viewed in a larger context that takes into
account Russian concerns that the U.S. and NATO are
surrounding it.

U.S.-RUSSIA BILATERAL

Sergey Ryabkov - Deputy Foreign Minister
--------------


18. (U) Sergey Yevgenyevih Ryabkov.
- Born in 1960.
- 1982, graduated from MGIMO and joined the MFA.
- 1982-1995, worked in various MFA offices and overseas posts.
- 1995-1999, OSCE Section Chief, MFA European Cooperation
Department.
- 1999-2002, Senior Counselor, Russian Embassy in the U.S.
- 2002-2005, DCM, Russian Embassy in the U.S.
- 2005-2008, Director, MFA European Cooperation Department.
- 2008-present, Deputy Foreign Minister with responsibility
for the MFA North American Department, Latin American
Department, and Department of Security Affairs and
Disarmament.
- Speaks English and Dutch.
- Married, two children.


19. (C) As the senior MFA official responsible for bilateral
relations with the U.S., Ryabkov appears well disposed toward
cooperating with us on Afghanistan. He opened the February
consultations on Afghanistan on a distinctly positive note
that was maintained throughout much of the course of the
discussions. Ryabkov suggested during the consultations that
the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) was the best forum for further
discussions on Afghanistan stabilization, and suggested
formation of a NRC working group on Afghan-related issues.
Other MFA officials have indicated, however, that the NRC was
not the optimal forum for such discussions and the GOR
preferred engaging in a special dialogue directly with the
U.S. on Afghan issues, which may reflect a bureaucratic tug
of war between DFMs Ryabkov and Borodavkin. Following
discussions in May regarding a possible lethal transit
agreement, Ryabkov suggested that creative solutions could be
found to overcome differences between the two sides. Apart
from bilateral cooperation with the U.S. on Afghanistan, it
is unlikely that Ryabkov focuses much of his attention on
Afghanistan policy, as his portfolio includes talks with the
U.S. on missile defense and strategic arms control, and
international efforts to halt the Iranian nuclear program.

Igor Neverov - Director, MFA North America Department
-------------- --------------


20. (U) Igor Svyatoslavovich Neverov.
- Born in 1956.
- 1978 graduated from MGIMO and joined the MFA.
- 1978-1984 worked at the Soviet Embassy to the U.S.
- 1984-1987 worked on the U.S. desk in the MFA North America
Department.
- 1987-1992, Second Secretary, Soviet and Russian Embassy to
the U.S.
- 1992-1994, Counselor, MFA North America Department.
- 1994-1998, Deputy Director, MFA North America Department.
- 1998-2002, Minister, Russian Embassy in the U.S.
- 2003-present, Director, MFA North America Department.
- Speaks English, Spanish and French.
- Married, two daughters.

MOSCOW 00001525 005 OF 005




21. (C) Like Ryabkov, Neverov's involvement in GOR
Afghanistan policy comes through Russian cooperation with the
U.S. on this issue. Neverov is an excellent interlocutor,
and, as demonstrated by his positive handling of the May 27
talks on a potential lethal transit agreement, is committed
to enhancing engagement with the U.S. on Afghanistan. He has
spent nearly his entire career focused on the U.S., and is
the MFA's leading "America hand."

Vladimir Voronkov, Director, MFA European Cooperation
Department
-------------- --------------


22. (U) Vladimir Ivanovich Voronkov.
- Born in 1953.
- 1975, graduated from Moscow State University. Earned a
PhD. in history (no date).
- 1989, joined the MFA.
- 2000-2002, Deputy Chief of Mission, Russian Embassy in
Poland.
- 2002-2005, Deputy Director, Personnel Department, MFA.
- 2005-2008, Deputy Permanent Representative at the OSCE.
- 2008-present, Director, MFA General European Cooperation
Department.
- Speaks Polish and English.
- Married, two children.


23. (C) The European Cooperation Department is involved with
GOR Afghanistan policy as it relates to transit agreements
with NATO members and the OSCE's Afghan programs. Voronkov
played a prominent role during the February bilateral
consultations, but was absent from more recent talks on a
lethal transit agreement that is being negotiated
bilaterally. The North America Department has taken over the
lead on this issue. If the GOR chooses to pursue an enhanced
dialogue on Afghanistan at the NATO-Russia Council, Voronkov
and his department may play a more prominent role.

Yuri Gorlatch, Deputy Director, MFA European Cooperation
Department
-------------- --------------


24. (U) Yuri Andreevich Gorlatch
- Biographic information will be reported septel.


25. (C) Gorlatch was the principal working level official
managing conclusion of the non-lethal transit agreement. His
main focus is on NATO-Russia Council issues, and appears to
be genuinely interested in enhancing NATO-Russia relations.
He is friendly and accessible, typically agreeing to meet on
short notice, although not always fully responsive to
questions.
BEYRLE