VZCZCXRO6436
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #1186/01 3061144
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021144Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9640
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 2930
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 0750
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 0626
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 1203
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 1861
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001186 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/UMB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ETRD SCUL UP TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SEEKS TO 
REVIVE THE OLD RELATIONSHIP 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  SUMMARY:  Ukrainian Foreign Minister Yatsenyuk's 
late-October visit to Ashgabat is part of an effort to 
re-establish a normal relationship between the two countries, 
after years of commercial disputes and changes in leadership 
on both sides.  Numerous areas of cooperation, including 
planning for the upcoming CIS heads of government meeting on 
22 November and President Berdimuhamedov's official visit to 
Ukraine early next year, suggest the two countries are 
interested in reviving the relationship, but outstanding 
disputes will have to be resolved.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  PolOff met with Ukrainian Embassy political 
officer Igor Roman for a read-out of Foreign Minister 
Yatsenyuk's visit to Ashgabat on 25-26 October.  The 
Ukrainian delegation arrived during Turkmenistan's 
Independence Week, perhaps the most significant and frenetic 
holiday period of the year.  Roman noted Yatsenyuk came with 
a small delegation that also included former Deputy Foreign 
Minister Oleksandr Chalyy.  Their goals were simple, and 
focused primarily on issues relating to repairing the 
bilateral relationship, which has suffered from a number of 
commercial problems over the last 10 years.  The Ukrainian 
government, however, had decided that delving into the 
details of those problems was inappropriate on the eve of a 
major holiday, so Yatsenyuk focused on underscoring the 
positive elements of the new relationship.  Roman said the 
foreign minister spent 40 minutes with President 
Berdimuhamedov, and then met for more than two hours with 
Deputy Cabinet Chairman/Foreign Minister Meredov.  The 
delegation had requested a meeting with Deputy Chairman for 
Oil and Gas Tagiyev, but Tagiyev was unavailable.  Ukraine's 
deputy prime minister for energy may head its TIOGE 
conference delegation November 13-15, however, and he may try 
to meet with Tagiyev then. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Ukraine has a long history of strong ties with 
Turkmenistan in energy, military cooperation, and education. 
The longtime commercial relationship between the two states, 
however, has suffered deeply because of several unresolved 
contract disputes and a scandal surrounding a Ukrainian 
company railroad bridge project. Several years ago, a serious 
contract dispute arose when Ukrainian contractors sought to 
re-negotiate the terms of a major underground infrastructure 
project contract that the Ukrainian state company 
Interbudmontazh had been overseeing.  When the cost of 
construction materials skyrocketed, the company sought to 
renegotiate that portion of the contract, but the Turkmen 
side insisted that either the company or the government of 
Ukraine absorb any added costs themselves. The dispute was 
never settled, and work on the project came to a halt. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Another contract dispute that descended into 
criminal scandal also worsened the bilateral relationship. 
UkrTransBud had signed a deal to build a railway bridge over 
the Amu Darya River, and the Turkmen government had agreed to 
pay for the bridge with delivery of natural gas.  Somehow, 
the gas delivery "went missing," Ukrainian press reported 
that two Ukrainian businessmen were arrested, and the bridge 
has not been built. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Yatsenyuk's priority topics for discussion 
included President Berdimuhamedov's official visit to Ukraine 
early next year.  Berdimuhamedov had accepted President 
Yuschenko's invitation to visit Ukraine earlier this year, 
but the two sides had some difficulty agreeing on a time. 
Earlier in the year had not been possible because 
Berdimuhamedov had just taken office, and now Ukraine wanted 
to wait for its new government to be in place before hosting 
the visit.  The Turkmen side, however, noted Berdimuhamedov's 
busy schedule at the end of this year, and said it would 
consider a visit no earlier than February 2008. 
 
 
ASHGABAT 00001186  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  With the CIS heads of government meeting taking 
place in Ashgabat on 22 November under Ukraine's 
chairmanship, it was a perfect opportunity for the two states 
to consult on the planning for the meeting.  Roman agreed 
that it was interesting that Turkmenistan had offered to host 
the meeting, since its status as a non-member in the CIS has 
still not been legally defined.  He said the Turkmen and CIS 
legal authorities had been in negotiations for several years 
to create a definition for "associate" or "observer" member 
that both parties could live with, but there is still no 
agreement.  He thought the primary reason Ashgabat was 
offered up as a host city was to provide some international 
media attention for Turkmenistan, not to mention filling up 
the usually vacant hotels here with CIS visitors and media. 
Berdimuhamedov, he said, was planning to give a keynote 
speech. 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Ukraine has had a very successful cooperative 
education program with Turkmenistan for many years, and is 
currently engaged in discussions with the Turkmen government 
to expand it further.  This year, some 500 students were able 
to go to Ukrainian universities and technical institutes, 
although at personal expense, and a total of about 1,500 
Turkmenistani students are currently in Ukraine.  The 
government of Ukraine sponsors an additional 33 student 
scholarships per year, but the program requires that the 
students speak Ukrainian.  (NOTE:  The Ukrainian Embassy is 
the only place in Turkmenistan where Ukrainian language is 
taught.  It is offered in classes on Sunday afternoons, and 
ethnic Ukrainians and Tatars in particular have filled them 
up.  The classes are oversized, but Turkmen authorities have 
been unwilling to allow the embassy to rent space elsewhere 
for these classes.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Ukrainian efforts to engage the Turkmen 
on such a wide variety of issues, including commerce, 
diplomacy, regional cooperation and education might pay off 
in the longer term.  The Turkmen are certainly aware of the 
benefits a close relationship could offer, in construction 
expertise and energy partnerships alone.  Berdimuhamedov 
would be smart to direct his government to resolve the old 
disputes and move into new potential areas of cooperation. 
It is certain, however, that Berdimuhamedov will want to 
review carefully the old disputes before entering into new 
agreements, but both sides are likely interested in finding 
closure.  On the Turkmen view of CIS, the Ukrainians have it 
right.  Berdimuhamedov is interested in an association with 
the CIS structure only as a vehicle for raising 
Turkmenistan's international profile, and to give Turkmen 
officials a single location where they can regularly manage 
their CIS bilateral relationships on a budget.  END COMMENT. 
HOAGLAND