KAZAKHSTAN'S DEPUTY MINISTER OF DEFENSE BRINGS

C O N F I D E N T I A L USNATO 000032 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/20/2020 TAGS: NATO PREL KZ AF OSCE MARR SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN'S DEPUTY MINISTER OF DEFENSE BRINGS WISH LIST TO USNATO Classified By: Political Advisor Kelly Degnan for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d) ¶1. (C/NF) SUMMARY: On January 19 Kazakhstan Deputy Minister of Defense (D/MOD) Bulat Sembinov thanked Ambassador Daalder for U.S. support in both multilateral and bilateral assistance to Kazakhstan's military and informed him of Kazakhstan's intention to contribute staff officers to NATO's operation in Afghanistan. He requested U.S. assistance in strengthening Kazakhstan's peacekeeping unit, as well as in increasing Astana's capacity in the Caspian Sea. He also said he hoped the U.S. would preserve the format of exercise STEPPE EAGLE and support an OSCE summit in 2010. END SUMMARY. -------------- -------------- Here's what Kazakhstan is doing for the U.S. and NATO ... -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C/NF) D/MOD Sembinov confirmed that Afghanistan is the Kazakhstan's Ministry of Defense's top issue, and offered as proof its recent signing of the land transit agreement with NATO, as well as the finalization of an agreement to send staff officers to NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Headquarters in Kabul. Ambassador Daalder thanked D/MOD Sembinov for Kazakhstan's potential contribution to ISAF Headquarters, and told D/MOD Sembinov that after his most recent trip to Afghanistan, he was convinced that more army and police trainers were needed. ¶3. (C/NF) Emphasizing that Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian nation to undertake participation in NATO's Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) program, D/MOD Sembinov highlighted the IPAP's synergy with its five-year military cooperation program, which seeks to enhance Kazakhstan's military capacity and its contribution to regional security (Note: through the five-year program Kazakhstan plans to acquire a U.S. ship for the purpose of strengthening its navy). Kazakhstan's Partnership for Peace (PfP) training center in Almaty, inaugurated in 2009, seeks to offer courses in NATO staff procedures and regional studies to interested regional partners. -------------- -------------- ... and here's what the U.S. can do for Kazakhstan -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C/NF) Praising Kazakhstan's peacekeeping unit as the only one of its type in the post-Soviet space, D/MOD Sembinov thanked the U.S. for training more than 300 of its servicemen in American facilities. He lauded these U.S.-trained servicemen as some of the "high-rankers" of Kazakhstan's military system. He also stated that one of Kazakhstan's priorities was to expand Kazakhstan's peacekeeping activities. However, Sembinov told Ambassador Daalder that he was not satisfied with NATO's experts' evaluation of Kazakhstan's peacekeeping troops, therefore he suggested strengthening U.S. assistance to this unit. ¶5. (C/NF) D/MOD Sembinov made an impassioned plea to Ambassador Daalder to help preserve the format of exercise STEPPE EAGLE in light of rumors that the United Kingdom will limit its future participation in the exercise. He also sought U.S. support for strengthening Kazakhstan's capacity in the Caspian Sea region, especially regarding joint threats and reduction of proliferation. ¶6. (C/NF) D/MOD Sembinov told Ambassador Daalder that NATO and the OSCE, of which Kazakhstan serves as the Chairman-in-Office for 2010, have almost the same agenda when it come to security matters, and stressed that the world needs success in both fora. He announced that Kazakhstan would like to hold an OSCE summit during its chairmanship and asked for U.S. support in this regard. Ambassador Daalder expressed cautious optimism about holding a OSCE Summit and praised Kazakhstan for its role as an important partner of the U.S. HEFFERN