VZCZCXRO9567
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBC RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHDIR RUEHIK
RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #1378/01 2941349
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201349Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1731
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4419
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2231
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2096
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2667
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001378 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN AND INL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL SNAR TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: AFGHANS AND TURKMEN HOLD 
CROSS-BORDER COORDINATION MEETING 
 
 ¶1. (SBU) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU)  SUMMARY: UNODC hosted a cross-border meeting 
between Afghan and Turkmen officials on October 17 at the 
border town of Serhetabat. Counter narcotics, migration, 
customs and other officials from both countries were in 
attendance, as well as representatives of the Ashgabat 
diplomatic corps. UNODC is likely to seek the support of 
donor countries to implement the support programs it 
envisions as the outcome of a formalized agreement in 
accordance with the Paris and Berlin pacts.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Emboff attended a cross-border cooperation meeting 
hosted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) between 
Turkmen and Afghan officials at the border town of Serhetabat 
on October 17th. The meeting was the first such gathering of 
its kind of officials from the two countries, and was 
organized as part of UNODC's efforts to promote the 
enforcement of border controls over illicit drug trafficking. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In addition to UNODC's chief of mission, Ercan Saka, 
who organized the meeting, other participants included UNODC 
officials from Herat, Afghanistan; Turkmen officials from the 
Ministry of National Security, State Border Guard Service, 
Customs Service, Migration Service and State Counter 
Narcotics Service.  The Afghan delegation consisted of 
officials from the Border Guards, Counter Narcotics Service, 
Immigration and one representative from the MFA in Herat. 
Several members of the diplomatic corps from Ashgabat, both 
embassies and international organizations, were also present. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In their statements, Afghan officials said that in 
contrast to Afghanistan's border relations with Iran and 
Pakistan, they have no "critical" issues with Turkmenistan 
concerning border security. They noted that most armed 
confrontations with narcotics smugglers have occurred at the 
Iranian border (Herat Vilayaat) and said that they have 
difficulties patrolling their borders in some areas, which 
are inaccessible due to impassible or non-existent roads. The 
border situation should be viewed, they said, in the context 
of Afghanistan's being at war for the past 30 years. 
Nevertheless, they are confident that they will be able to 
live up to their commitments under both the Paris and Berlin 
Pacts. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Turkmen delegates in turn said that they hope to 
continue to hold cross-border meetings with their Afghan 
counterparts, and to continue to enhance bilaterial, regional 
and multinational cooperation with Afghanistan, for whom 
Turkmenistan is "doing all it can" to provide humanitarian 
assistance. They gave an overview of their recent counter 
narcotics developments, including the creation of the State 
Counter Narcotics Service (SCNS) and training center, new 
border stations at Imam Nazar (Afghan border) and Farap 
(Uzbek border) checkpoints, the creation of a Paris Pact 
coordination unit, and hosting of the Caspian Initiative on 
counter narcotics last June. 
 
NEXT STEPS 
 
¶7. (SBU) UNODC concluded by noting that Afghanistan and 
Turkmenistan share an 800 km. border and two border 
checkpoints, a railroad line, and that both are party to main 
international conventions on drugs and crime. The agency next 
plans to draft a cross-border cooperation agreement between 
Afghanistan and Turkmenistan,  submit a formal letter to both 
governments on the agreement, identify a point-of-contact for 
each side and arrange a high-level meeting in Afghanistan. 
UNODC will provide administrative support and technical 
infrastructure.  For all of these activities, it will 
undoubtedly seek the financial and technical support of donor 
countries. 
 
¶8. (SBU) COMMENT: UNODC has embarked upon an ambitious effort 
 
ASHGABAT 00001378  002 OF 002 
 
 
to foster border security coordination between Afghanistan 
and Turkmenistan.  Both countries have an interest in 
promoting border security for reasons of national security, 
and it is an initiative that Turkmenistan can support without 
fearing that it would adversely affect its neutrality, the 
cornerstone of its foreign policy.  UNODC will certainly look 
to the United States and others for financial and technical 
support to this end.  We noted that during the meeting and 
breaks, there was little informal exchange between the 
Turkmen and Afghan officials, who are separated by language, 
although one of the Afghan officials was an ethnic Turkmen 
who spoke both languages.  END COMMENT. 
CURRAN