UZBEK CHARGE AT OSCE MEETS WITH USOSCE CHARGE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 USOSCE 000281

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/15/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEK CHARGE AT OSCE MEETS WITH USOSCE CHARGE

USOSCE 00000281 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Carol S. Fuller
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

SUMMARY
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1. (C) In a December 14 meeting, Charge d'Affaires (CDA)
Ravshanbek Duschanov of the Uzbek Mission to the OSCE, said
the small size of his delegation meant Uzbek diplomats could
not always engage on some OSCE matters. He defended
Uzbekistan's role as spoiler of the Media Freedom decision at
the Athens OSCE Ministerial two weeks earlier by saying his
mission had never received the last version of the draft
decision and had felt its views were not given adequate
consideration. On an OSCE Summit in 2010, Duschanov said
Uzbekistan expressed its reservations to Kazakhstan in a
pre-Athens exchange of letters making clear Uzbekistan's
belief there is no need for a Summit. Like the U.S., he said
Uzbekistan will wait to see if sufficient substance develops
for a summit. He said Kazakhstan's goals for its year as the
OSCE Chair in Office (CiO) are too ambitious and unrealistic.
Duschanov said Uzbekistan is deeply concerned about
Afghanistan, and wanted to help, but opposed plans for the
OSCE to work inside the country. Duschanov also raised
ongoing energy disputes between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan,
noting Uzbekistan's objection to the construction of a
hydro-electric plant by Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He said
Uzbekistan opposed the CSTO plan to create a Rapid Reaction
Force in Central Asia, and opposed Russian aims to build a
military base in the Ferghana Valley. He said Uzbekistan
actively wants to "diversify its interests" in Central Asia
so as not to be singularly aligned with either China or
Russia as they compete for interest in the region. End
summary.

UZBEKISTAN: SPOILER IN ATHENS
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2. (C) In their first private meeting (arranged at the
initial request of the Uzbeks),Duschanov told USOSCE CDA
Carol Fuller that the small size of the Uzbek mission (3
diplomatic and several technical staff),coupled with
responsibility for bilateral relations with Austria, Hungary
and Slovakia as well as the United Nations in Vienna and "any
other international organizations," frequently prevented
Uzbek diplomats from fully engaging on some OSCE matters.
When asked about Uzbekistan's role as the lone dissenter on
the Media Freedom decision at the Athens OSCE Ministerial
Conference December 1-2, Duschanov defended his country's
position, saying Uzbekistan had never received the latest
version of the draft text. He said, in Athens, Uzbekistan
was still working on the first version of the media freedom
decision (which he called unacceptable) while the rest of the
participating States were working from the fifth or sixth
version. He also added that Uzbekistan felt like its views
were not given adequate consideration. He said, however,
this did not mean his country opposed media freedom.
(Comment: Most delegations believed there was more to this
story, including friction with the Russian ambassador who was
trying to "deliver" consensus on the decision to demonstrate
its "constructive engagement" in the OSCE. End Comment)

SUMMIT IN 2010?
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3. (C) (C) On an OSCE Summit in 2010, Duschanov said Uzbek
Foreign Minister Norov had responded to a letter from
Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Saudabayev pressing all Central
Asian countries to support at the Athens Ministerial the
proposal for a summit in Astana in 2010, making clear
Uzbekistan's belief that there was no need for a Summit.
Duschanov pointed to the difficulty that the OSCE had to
reach consensus at the Ministerial level as a clear factor
weighing against having a Summit. He said Uzbekistan, like
the U.S., would wait to see if sufficient substance for a
summit develops.
When asked his views on Kazakhstan's goals for its year as
CiO, Duschanov said they were too ambitious and unrealistic.

AFGHANISTAN
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4. (C) On Afghanistan, Duschanov said Uzbekistan is deeply
concerned. He said his country is providing bilateral
assistance, but opposed any plans for the OSCE to work inside
the country. He said the OSCE had no expertise in doing any
of the things needed inside Afghanistan. CDA Fuller gently

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disagreed - pointing to the OSCE's proven expertise in border
security training and the desire for them to do such in
Afghanistan. She pointed out that efforts to train Afghans
outside of the country were not working for a variety of
reasons, including visa problems such as the denial by
Tajikistan of 10 Afghans who were to attend an OSCE/ATU
travel document security course in Dushanbe during the week
of December 7-11. In response to her inquiry whether
Uzbekistan would be interested in bringing Afghans to his
country for OSCE training. Duschanov said he was unsure.

ONGOING BATTLE OVER REGIONAL ENERGY ISSUES
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5. (C) Duschanov also raised ongoing energy disputes between
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, noting Uzbekistan's objection to
the proposed construction of a hydro-electric plant by
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. He called for a UN-led
international investigation into the environmental impact of
the plant and an analysis of the dangers presented by
constructing such a plant in a region with high seismic
activity. On Uzbekistan's withdrawal from the Central Asian
Common Power Grid, Duschanov said Tajikistan had been taking
energy from Uzbekistan for a long time without sanctions. He
said on November 9, an accident in Tajikistan completely
halted the flow of any electricity into Afghanistan. He said
Uzbekistan now contributes electricity for Kabul 24 hours a
day, seven days a week. Uzbekistan is willing to negotiate,
but there should be sanctions for bad behavior. He said
Uzbekistan was not willing to risk its national security "due
to the irresponsible actions of our neighbors."

PRESERVING UZBEK INDEPENDENCE
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6. (C) Duschanov said Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan met
bilaterally to discuss the approaching Kazkhstani CiO. He
said the two countries would meet weekly as Kazakhstan sought
to develop consensus first within Central Asian countries and
within CSTO countries before the wider OSCE community.
However, he reiterated Uzbekistan's desire to forge its own
way. For example, he said, Uzbekistan opposes the CSTO plan
to create a Rapid Reaction Force in Central Asia, and opposes
Russian aims to build a military base in the Ferghana Valley.
He said Uzbekistan actively wanted to "diversify its
interests" in Central Asia so as not to be singularly aligned
with either China or Russia as they compete for interest in
the region.


7. (SBU) Duschanov said Uzbek President Karimov will visit
Austria and Slovakia next year, at which time he hoped
there would be an Uzbek Ambassador in place. Duschanov, who
arrived in Vienna in September, is married with young
children. He said his previous work on cultural exchanges at
the MFA in Tashkent "had nothing to do with the OSCE."
Prior to the MFA, he was at the Uzbek Embassy in Paris.

COMMENT
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8. (C) The small size of the Uzbek delegation clearly makes
it difficult for it to cover all bilateral and multilateral
obligations at the OSCE, the UN, and other offices.
Nonetheless, this was a convenient excuse for allegedly not
having seen the most updated version of the media freedom
draft decision in Athens - which had been made available
electronically and in hard copy to all delegations. The
delegation participated in virtually none of the weeks of
pre-Athens drafting sessions and then simply killed the
decision at the last minute after all other countries reached
consensus. It was the sole voice refusing to assent to the
language Kazakhstan wanted in a decision on its plans for an
OSCE Summit. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were the only
countries that opposed (and therefore killed) a decision in
favor of the Rule of Law. We see the willingness of the new
Uzbek CDA to visit the U.S. Mission as a positive step
forward. We will look for creative ways to engage him and
his delegation going forward, but are aware that the
likelihood of progress is dubious at best.
FULLER