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OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW
RUEHLA RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNEH RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHPW RUEHROV
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DE RUEHTA #2318/01 3291054
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 241054Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3923
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 0841
RUCNCLS/SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0240
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0950
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2070
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 2402
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 0408
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 0323
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASTANA 002318 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EUR/PRA, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM ECON KDEM OSCE KZ
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT NAZARBAYEV CALLS FOR GREATER INTERNATIONAL ROLE, 
CRITICIZES OSCE 
 
¶1.  (U)  Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for Internet distribution. 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  SUMMARY: In his speech to Kazakhstan's top diplomats on 
November 19, President Nazarbayev asked the MFA to develop a new 
foreign policy concept that underscores Kazakhstan's growing role on 
the global scene.  He noted that Kazakhstan's steady and careful 
political development helped assure its sovereignty and territorial 
integrity, allowed it to become a regional player, and made it a 
"worthy partner" of major geopolitical players.  He reiterated 
Kazakhstan's commitment to good relations with Russia and China, and 
stressed his intention to increase ties with the new U.S. 
Administration.  Nazarbayev outlined his priorities for relations 
with Central Asian states, the European Union, and the Persian Gulf. 
 In a separate interview, Kazakhstan's President expressed 
frustration with the OSCE and European Union for concentrating too 
much on Kazakhstan's democratic development and ignoring the 
country's political environment.  Kazakhstan will become a 
democracy, asserted the President, but it cannot do so overnight. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
"NEW CONCEPT" FOR FOREIGN POLICY 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  On November 19, at the MFA's annual Chiefs of Missions 
gathering, President Nazarbayev laid out his vision for the future 
of Kazakhstan's foreign policy.  He asked the MFA to develop a "new 
concept" of Kazakhstan's foreign policy "that underscores the 
increasing role of Kazakhstan on the world scene."  The concept 
should encompass Kazakhstan's approach "to the most important 
international issues, foreign policy interests, and [Kazakhstan's] 
role in global and regional affairs," stressed Nazarbayev.  The 
President went on to outline his future foreign policy priorities: 
 
-- securing Kazakhstan's regional borders, 
-- promoting the country's economic development, 
-- furthering Eurasian and Central Asian integration, 
-- carrying out a successful 2010 OSCE chairmanship, 
-- implementing the Path to Europe program, 
-- preparing for the 2011 Organization of the Islamic Conference 
(OIC) chairmanship, 
-- continuing to support inter-faith dialogue, including the 
third-annual World Religious Leaders Conference in Astana in 2009, 
and 
-- developing further a regional security mechanism, including the 
2010 summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building 
in Asia (CICA). 
 
"A WORTHY PARTNER OF GEOPOLITICAL PLAYERS" 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Nazarbayev told the gathered diplomats that Kazakhstan's 
growing role on the international scene is due in large part to its 
steady political development.  "Despite a difficult situation in the 
world, Kazakhstan is able to handle all outside challenges with 
confidence and dignity," he said.  "We have not made dramatic 
mistakes in our political development," stressed the President, "and 
we have managed to strengthen our sovereignty and territorial 
integrity."  Kazakhstan is now ready for a "more active foreign 
policy" based on "clear goals and strategies on how to reach them." 
The country has joined the ranks of "significant players in world 
politics," as proven by its 2008-2009 CICA chairmanship, its 2010 
OSCE chairmanship, the 2011 OIC chairmanship, and its leadership 
roles in CICA and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).  "We 
can say confidently that Kazakhstan has emerged as a regional power 
and a worthy partner of global geopolitical players," underlined 
Nazarbayev. 
 
ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN IS A NATURAL CYCLE 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Nazarbayev noted that the current global economic 
slowdown is a serious reminder "of what happens when people live 
beyond their budget."  He reminded the audience, however, that the 
slowdown is a "natural change in the global economic cycles.  The 
crisis will sober up many people who engaged in blunt speculation, 
including those in this country."  He noted that the fact that 
Kazakhstan was affected by the crisis means that the country "has 
become an inseparable part of the global economy."   Nazarbayev 
 
ASTANA 00002318  002 OF 003 
 
 
praised the government for quickly developing and implementing a 
plan for economic stabilization and development. 
 
THE MULTIVECTOR POLICY, WITH A STRESS ON UNITED STATES 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  Nazarbayev reiterated Kazakhstan's multi-vector foreign 
policy, saying that "Russia has always been and remains Kazakhstan's 
reliable ally, economic partner, and good neighbor" and that ties 
with China, Kazakhstan's "strategic partner" and a country with 
growing "global significance," must continue to grow.  Turning to 
the United States, Nazarbayev said that he "intends to strengthen 
cooperation with the new U.S. administration."  "The United States 
is a driving force of many world policies," stressed the President. 
He shared the details of his November 18 telephone conversation with 
President-elect Obama, in which they discussed regional security, 
Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Russia, and bilateral cooperation in the 
energy sphere, nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and 
counter-terrorism.  "Mr. Obama said he is a friend to Kazakhstan," 
noted President Nazarbayev, "and promised to increase the 
cooperation with Kazakhstan."  "This is a good sign," concluded 
Nazarbayev, "and the Ministry should work on increasing ties with 
the new Administration." 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Nazarbayev stressed the need for greater regional 
cooperation in addressing common security challenges.  "Interaction 
with Central Asian countries will remain one of Kazakhstan's top 
priorities," he emphasized.  On relations with the European Union, 
Nazarbayev called for expeditious implementation of the Path to 
Europe, a program to increase economic, technological, and transport 
links with European countries.  He noted that he will visit India in 
January and told the Ministry to adequately prepare for the visit 
"so that it serves as impetus for further development."  He closed 
his remarks by saying that Kazakhstan, as a country that is part of 
the Islamic world, "assigns serious importance to relations with 
countries in the Persian Gulf" and will continue to improve 
relations with United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. 
 
 
OSCE TOO FOCUSED ON THE HUMAN DIMENSION 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  While President Nazarbayev did not touch on Kazakhstan's 
Madrid commitments during his speech to the country's top diplomats, 
he did express frustration in an interview the next day that the 
OSCE and the European Union are too focused on Kazakhstan's 
democratic development and ignore the country's political realities. 
 Kazakhstan will continue to build a democratic society, he 
maintained, but it can't happen at the pace the OSCE wants. 
"Democracy is a culture.  This is the beginning, and not the end, of 
our way.  We are moving in that direction," he stressed. 
Kazakhstan's priorities are securing independence, ensuring 
stability as a multiethnic state, and the gradual building of the 
democratic system.  "We are approaching the goal at a steady pace," 
maintained the President, "but we can't skip steps, otherwise we'll 
overturn the whole wagon." 
 
¶9.  (SBU)  Nazarbayev asserted that the OSCE makes disproportionate 
demands of post-Soviet states on democracy and doesn't pay enough 
attention to other priorities.  The OSCE has four dimensions: 
security, economic cooperation, environmental protection, and the 
human dimension, he explained.  "With regard to security, we did not 
see the OSCE when the Taliban were threatening to move through 
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.  On economic cooperation, the European 
Union has not had a decisive economic effect on Central Asia.  And 
environment cooperation has only been discussed in general terms." 
In all these years, maintained the President, the European Union and 
OSCE have focused exclusively on the fourth dimension, the human 
dimension.  OSCE and EU officials come to post-Soviet states only to 
"observe elections and point out some flaws."  "This would be 
constructive criticism, if it had not been blown out of proportion," 
maintained Nazarbayev.  The push of some European states to turn 
post-Soviet countries into "the same democracies they are now is a 
laudable aspiration," he asserted.  "We want the same thing, but we 
need to walk a long way to achieve it," he continued.  (COMMENT:  It 
is somewhat ironic that Nazarbayev was so openly critical of the EU, 
many of whose members supported Kazakhstan's desire to become 
Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, while he did not direct any such 
 
ASTANA 00002318  003 OF 003 
 
 
comments toward the United States, which did not initially endorse 
Kazakhstan.  END COMMENT). 
 
¶10.  (SBU)  COMMENT: Nazarbayev clearly laid out Kazakhstan's 
priorities - a greater role on the international scene, a careful 
but steady process of democratization, and continuation of 
Kazakhstan's multi-vector policy -- with an added emphasis on 
relations with the United States.  With a new administration pending 
in Washington, we have a unique opportunity to further bilateral 
ties and increase our influence in Kazakhstan.  Nazarbayev's 
criticism of the OSCE also sends a clear message:  pushing too hard 
for reform will only harden resistance and may not produce results 
the OSCE, and we, would like.  In the end, persistent, quiet 
diplomacy based on a realistic assessment of shared interests, 
coupled with a good deal of patience, will be the most effective way 
to achieve our goals.  END COMMENT. 
 
HOAGLAND