DEMARCHE DELIVERED: LONDON CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 000113 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR S/SRAP J BLANC; SCA/A T GRAMAGLIA AND C COBERLY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON EFIN AF TI SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: LONDON CONFERENCE ON AFGHANISTAN REF: STATE 6355 ¶1. (SBU) Embassy Dushanbe delivered points in reftel on January 22 to Farhod Salim, Director of the North America and Europe Department at Tajikistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Salim said the MFA had no immediate comment on the U.S. goals at the London Conference on Afghanistan, but he had made sure to send the demarche to Foreign Minister Zarifi, who is currently in Istanbul on his way to London. If we hear of any more substantive response, we will report septel. ¶2. (SBU) Salim added that Tajikistan had learned from its embassy in London that the draft final communique of the London Conference contained no mention of infrastructure projects Tajikistan wished for, including rail and gas lines connecting Turkmenistan via Mazar e Sharif to Tajikistan. The Tajiks had earlier understood that there would be some mention of these projects and were dismayed by this development. They were working to get some mention reinserted in the text. Farhod predicted that Foreign Minister Zarifi would attend the conference regardless of the final text of the communique. GROSS