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.

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Here's what Kazakhstan is doing for the U.S. and NATO ...
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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.

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... and here's what the U.S. can do for Kazakhstan
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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