TURKMENISTAN: WESTERN BOYCOTT OF AHMADINEJAD

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 000007 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR SCA/CEN AND NEA/IR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL ECON EPET EU IR TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: WESTERN BOYCOTT OF AHMADINEJAD EVENTS REF: ASHGABAT 0006 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for Public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) French Embassy Charge Henri Leval contacted us January 5 to inform that the EU had decided not to participate in events associated with the official visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the Head of Mission level. Since most of the European missions in Ashgabat are small, it meant that there would be no representatives of France, Germany or the UK at the events. The DCM would represent the Romanian Embassy. The Polish Embassy was still waiting for instructions. We had informed our EU colleagues earlier that there would be no U.S. Embassy participation at the events. ¶3. (U) Ahmadinejad arrived in Turkmenistan on January 5 for official meetings and will participate in the January 6 opening of the Dovletabad-Serakhs-Hangeran pipeline, the second Turkmenistan-to-Iran gas pipeline (reftel). Official events to which the Turkmenistan government has invited the diplomatic corps include an official welcoming ceremony for Ahmadinejad (January 5),an official dinner in Ahmadinejad's honor (January 5),and the pipeline opening. Per tradition, the visiting head of state shakes the hand of each embassy representative during the welcoming ceremony. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: We were surprised by the EU decision, since they tend not to take stands here. Nevertheless, given events in Iran since the June presidential election, our EU colleagues no doubt consider it the correct course of action. END COMMENT. CURRAN