VZCZCXRO4182
RR RUEHLN RUEHSK RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #0944/01 2161139
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041139Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0607
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0201
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0130
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0108
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 1317

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 000944 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ENRG ETRD TI RS AF PK
SUBJECT: AFGHAN, PAKISTANI, RUSSIAN, AND TAJIK PRESIDENTS CONVENE IN 
DUSHANBE 
 
REF: A. DUSHANBE 917 
     ¶B. DUSHANBE 712 
 
DUSHANBE 00000944  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The presidents of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and 
Russia descended on Dushanbe July 28-31 for bilateral and 
multilateral meetings, where they discussed energy, trade, 
security, military cooperation, and other issues.  The most 
substantive news to emerge from the summit was a possible 
Russian commitment to pay Tajikistan for hosting the 201 
Motorized Rifle Division.  Presidents Rahmon and Medvedev 
participated in an opening ceremony for the Sangtuda-1 
hydropower station.  Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan 
discussed cooperation on energy and trade issues, agreeing to 
look at ways to increase commerce between Central and South 
Asia.  There were few unscripted moments in the tightly 
orchestrated summit.  End summary. 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) The Pakistani delegation was the first to arrive last 
week.  Although a small incendiary device exploded near the 
delegation's lodgings (ref A), the meetings were otherwise 
uneventful.  (Note: There is so far no hard evidence to support 
speculation that the small explosions at the Hotel Tajikistan 
and the Dushanbe Airport early last week may have been intended 
to destabilize the summit.  End note.)  Rahmon and Pakistani 
President Ali Zardari agreed to launch direct air routes between 
Tajikistan and Pakistan, and Zardari said Pakistan would look 
into ways to help Tajikistan use the seaports at Karachi and 
Gwadar.  Next to arrive were the Afghans.  At a tripartite 
summit on July 30, Presidents Karzai, Zardari, and Rahmon 
reportedly focused primarily on energy and security.  They 
discussed progress to date on the prospective Central Asia-South 
Asia (CASA-1000) electrical transmission line, as well as steps 
being taken to combat militants in all three countries.  The 
following day Karzai attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a 
new Afghan embassy in Dushanbe. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) The last to arrive was Russian President Medvedev, late 
on the afternoon of July 30.  The next morning he and Rahmon 
attended an opening ceremony for the 670 Megawatt Sangtuda-1 
hydropower station, a joint Russian-Tajik operation built by a 
Russian contractor.  The station actually had begun operating at 
full capacity in May, though the Tajiks reportedly owed arrears 
totaling some $20 million to the Russian operator.  (Most media 
report that the Tajiks own 25% of the project, but according to 
local newspapers their ownership stake was earlier reduced to 
16.45%).  After hearing about Tajikistan's switch to 
energy-saving lightbulbs (ref B), Medvedev agreed to launch a 
Tajik-Russian joint venture to produce the bulbs domestically. 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) One of the more substantive issues to emerge during the 
summit concerned future military cooperation between Tajikistan 
and Russia.  The Russians are reportedly considering paying 
Tajikistan for hosting the 6,800 members of the 201 Russian 
Motorized Rifle Division based in Dushanbe.  In exchange, Russia 
is exploring weapons exports to Tajikistan at market prices, and 
training Tajik military staff on a commercial basis.  Presidents 
Rahmon and Medvedev ordered Tajik Minister of Foreign Affairs 
Zarifi and Russian Minister of Defense Serdyukov to review the 
status of the base and report back in 45 days. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) During a July 31, press conference with all four 
presidents, Medvedev raised some eyebrows (and hopes) with his 
pledge that Russia would work with international financial 
institutions such as the World Bank to draw the attention of the 
G-8 and G-20 to regional problems such as energy generation and 
transmission.  The subject of Tajikistan's recent draft 
legislation restricting the use of languages other than Tajik 
also came up during the discussions.  While the real impetus 
behind the law remains murky, many here and in Russia had viewed 
it as a direct challenge to the use of Russian, which still 
prevails here in many official contexts.  During meetings with 
Medvedev, however, Rahmon apparently promised to take another 
look at the draft to see how it might be revised.  Despite harsh 
criticism in Russian media, the Russian delegation played down 
concern over the issue.  Medvedev assistant Sergey Prikhodko 
told the press that Russia had no objections to the legislation 
because the Tajik Constitution designated Russian as the 
language of international communication in Tajikistan.  The 
Russians and Tajiks pledged to continue their discussions on a 
 
DUSHANBE 00000944  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
range of issues at meeting in September. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: Very little in the way of unscripted moments 
or interesting atmospherics emerged over the course of the 
tightly controlled visits.  Dushanbe residents were pleased and 
more than a little surprised to find that the streets remained 
open for much of the summit.  According to an embassy source, 
the Russian presidential plane departed from Dushanbe airport 
laden with nuts and fruit from Tajikistan.  "Why is Tajikistan 
subsidizing the Russian president's grocery purchases?" the 
source wondered.  When they're free, even hot peppers are sweet, 
as the Russian saying goes. 
 
End comment. 
QUAST