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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BISHKEK 001421 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZ FM PUSHES FOR GREATER COOPERATION WITH U.S. 
 
REF: A. STATE 147334 
 
     ¶B. BISHKEK 1328 
 
BISHKEK 00001421  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: CDA Lee Litzenberger, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  Visiting Central Asia Office Director 
Spratlen and Ambassador met with Foreign Minister Karabayev 
November 20 in Bishkek.  Spratlen stressed the importance of 
the upcoming parliamentary elections as an indicator of the 
direction of Kyrgyzstan's political reform, and she discussed 
ideas for moving the bilateral relationship forward. 
Karabayev maintained that democracy was Kyrgyzstan's biggest 
resource, and these elections were part of the process for 
strengthening statehood.  Karabayev listed a number of areas 
in which he hoped the U.S. and Kyrgyzstan could intensify 
cooperation, and he asked that the U.S. side propose a date 
for the next U.S.-Kyrgyz Comprehensive Policy Dialogue in 
Bishkek sometime in winter or early spring 2008 (Ref A).  End 
summary. 
 
The Minister's Wish List 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ednan Karabayev told visiting 
Central Asia Office Director Pamela Spratlen and Ambassador 
Yovanovitch November 20 that following his September visit to 
Washington for the inaugural "Comprehensive Policy Dialogue" 
(Ref A), there was "full interest" in developing the 
"strategic partnership" with the United States.  Karabayev 
laid out several areas for greater cooperation or assistance. 
 Noting that he had taken a long list of proposals with him 
to Washington, he suggested it would be better to focus on 
just a few investment projects, particularly in the energy 
sector; in the mining sector, with particular attention to 
smaller deposits; in rural development; and to rehabilitate 
of the road network. 
 
¶3. (C) Karabayev was anxious to move forward with 
Kyrgyzstan's Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Threshold 
Country Program, which he hoped would improve the country's 
standing on the MCA indicators.  Karabayev noted that 
Kyrgyzstan's external debt remained a serious concern, and he 
said again that he hoped to find a way to write down that 
debt, perhaps in exchange for commitments on sustainable 
development.  Karabayev asked for funding assistance to his 
ministry to implement an electronic visa system (see Ref B). 
Karabayev asked for help to get Kyrgyzstan included on the 
list of countries participating in the One Laptop per Child 
program headed by Nicholas Negroponte.  Karabayev also said 
that a meeting "at the highest level" would send a very good 
signal, and if the pre-requisites were met, he could start 
planning for such a meeting in 2008. 
 
Outstanding Issues 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (C) Karabayev said that in order to move forward, the two 
sides needed first to work through three outstanding issues. 
Karabayev raised the Kyrgyz government's earlier request for 
new air navigation equipment for Manas Airport.  The 
Ambassador pointed out that the Kyrgyz Air Navigation service 
had already decided to move forward with plans to purchase 
and install a Russian-sourced radar system.  Karabayev said 
the Kyrgyz side was still waiting for the final report from 
the U.S. side on the investigation into the December 2006 
shooting of a Kyrgyz truck driver by a U.S. airman at the 
Manas Air Base.  The Ambassador noted that CENTCOM Commander 
Fallon, in his November 5 meeting with Karabayev, said that 
the report had taken too long, but it should be completed 
before the end of the year. 
 
¶5. (C) Karabayev then raised the case of Almazbek Raimkulov, 
a Kyrgyz professional boxer who has been jailed in Las Vegas 
on an outstanding warrant, stating that the case was of 
 
BISHKEK 00001421  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
interest to President Bakiyev.  Karabayev said that many 
Kyrgyz attached great significance to the case, and he hoped 
that Raimkulov could be released on bail while the case was 
resolved.  The Ambassador said that the Kyrgyz Embassy in 
Washington was aware of the matter, and the Kyrgyz consul 
should assist Raimkulov to get a lawyer in order to resolve 
the matter according to law. 
 
Areas for Cooperation 
--------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Spratlen said that successful cooperation on 
particular projects could lay the groundwork for discussion 
about the possibility of a higher level meeting.  Spratlen 
said that in order to demonstrate progress in the bilateral 
relationship, the two sides should set out two or three 
achievable joint projects over the near to medium term, in 
the areas of security cooperation, economic development, and 
political reform.  One possibility in the security area would 
be for the Kyrgyz to deploy a peace keeping or de-mining 
team; there were ongoing discussions within CENTCOM about how 
Kyrgyz team might participate.  Karabayev stressed that a 
Kyrgyz deployment should be "under the UN flag," but we would 
take this "one step at a time."  Spratlen suggested further 
discussions in Washington and in Bishkek to come up with 
specific projects.  Spratlen said it was a positive sign that 
the MCA Threshold Country Program would be launched soon. 
Spratlen also said she would take the request for assistance 
on an electronic visa system back to Washington, but she was 
not optimistic that there would be any funding available to 
support the initiative. 
 
Parliamentary Elections 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Spratlen stressed the importance of the Kyrgyzstan's 
December 16 parliamentary elections as an indicator of the 
country's direction on political reform.  She noted that 
Kyrgyzstan had made important strides during its 16 years of 
independence, but that the blatant fraud during the October 
constitutional referendum set a bad precedent.  She said that 
a one-party parliament would undermine Kyrgyzstan's past 
advances on democracy and leave many voters unrepresented, 
and it was important that voters not be disenfranchised by 
technical rules.  She said that Washington would be watching 
the conduct of the elections closely. 
 
¶8. (C) Karabayev said that with few other natural advantages, 
Kyrgyzstan's biggest resource was its democracy.  He said 
that Kyrgyzstan, unlike its neighbors, had built a vibrant 
civil society, but as a result economic development had 
lagged.  In over two years of debate over constitutional 
reform, the "democracy of noise" had come to dominate the 
"democracy of reason," and it was time to reach a decision on 
the constitution.  In addition, the parliament had become 
"out of control," he said.   The purpose of the referendum 
and the parliamentary elections, Karabayev maintained, was to 
strengthen statehood and the "vertical of power."  He hoped 
that the result would not be a one-party parliament, but he 
also noted that under the new rules, the new parliament would 
see greater representation of women, ethnic minorities, and 
youth. 
 
Next Comprehensive Policy Dialogue 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Karabayev said that he wanted to set a date for the 
second round of the U.S.-Kyrgyz Comprehensive Policy Dialogue 
and consultations, to be held in Bishkek.  He said that the 
Kyrgyz side was flexible about the timing.  Spratlen said 
that the next meeting would probably take place during the 
first quarter of 2008, but we would get back to the Kyrgyz 
side shortly with a specific suggestion. 
 
 
BISHKEK 00001421  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10. (C) The two-hour meeting was constructive in tone as 
Karabayev clearly hopes to intensify cooperation with the 
U.S., and he came to the meeting with a long list of general 
ideas for investment or greater assistance.  Karabayev wants 
to demonstrate that the bilateral relationship with the U.S. 
is moving in the right direction, and that it results in 
tangible benefits to Kyrgyzstan.  Karabayev also wants to 
demonstrate that Kyrgyzstan is moving in the right direction, 
and he went to great lengths to defend the steps underway to 
"strengthen statehood."  Spratlen made clear, however, that 
from the U.S. perspective, "strengthening statehood" cannot 
be at expense of the democratic process. 
 
¶11. (U) Central Asia Office Director Spratlen has cleared 
this cable. 
LITZENBERGER