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FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
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INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
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RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 3848

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 001104 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2019 
TAGS: PREL ETRD TX UP
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: RELATIONS WITH UKRAINE LIMITED, 
MOSTLY COMMERCIAL 
 
Classified By: Charge Richard Miles, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D). 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  Although Ukraine and Turkmenistan no longer 
see eye-to-eye on political priorities, Ukrainian companies 
are still active in Turkmenistan, especially in the 
construction sector.  However, restrictions on civic 
organizations have isolated expat Ukrainians and those who 
now come to Turkmenistan do so only temporarily.  Although 
the press reports paint a picture of a rosy relationship, in 
reality the Soviet-era ties are dissolving and the countries 
are more different than similar.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) Political Officer met with Anna Dobracheva, a new 
Ukrainian Political Officer at the Ukrainian Embassy, who is 
also in charge of Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs, to get 
an overview of Turkmen-Ukrainian relations.  Dobracheva 
opened by saying that economic cooperation is the most 
important part of the relationship between Ukraine and 
Turkmenistan.  Since the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, 
political differences have made the government-to-government 
interaction somewhat strained.  The Orange Revolution was not 
the only factor that lead to the decline, but it certainly 
contributed. 
 
¶3. (SBU) One sector in which Ukrainian companies in 
Turkmenistan are doing well is construction.  They completed 
a railway bridge on August 24 in the Lebap province -- just 
in time to receive mention at the Ukrainian National Day 
celebration -- and will soon break ground on a nearby auto 
bridge.  Even though the Turkmen Government is now praising 
that project, delays during the construction in the past 
sparked criticism from President Berdimuhamedov.  Ukraine is 
attempting to increase its participation in Turkmenistan's 
energy sector.  Kyiv hopes to purchase gas directly from 
Ashgabat, to give itself an alternate supplier to Gazprom, 
and Ukrainian President Yushchenko will raise this topic when 
he comes to Turkmenistan in September. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Dobracheva mentioned that there are fewer Ukrainians 
living in Turkmenistan than in the past, primarily because 
Ukrainians are no longer moving to Turkmenistan.  Those who 
are in the country are either working here temporarily for 
Ukrainian companies or had moved here in the Soviet era.  The 
Turkmen Government places strict limits on any civic 
organizations, so the only official Ukrainian cultural 
organization is the Ukrainian Sunday School.  Many of the 
younger Ukrainians leave the country by taking advantage of 
opportunities such as the reserved places for expats at 
Ukrainian universities. 
 
¶5. (C) The Ukrainian Embassy appears to place high hopes on 
President Yushchenko's upcoming September 15-16 visit for 
improved relations.  He will spend one day in Ashgabat, 
discussing energy, a renewal of the protocol between the two 
countries' Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and a proposal to 
set up agreements between universities in two countries to 
facilitate students studying abroad.  The second day 
Yushchenko will travel to Lebap to open the new railway 
bridge and to break ground for the auto bridge. 
 
¶6. (C) COMMENT:  Dobracheva's comments differed in tone from 
those in local and international press.  She was not as 
upbeat about the general trends, did not claim that Ukraine 
and Turkmenistan are on the same path politically, and was 
open about the problems for Ukrainians living in the country. 
 Although she may have been spinning her comments for a U.S. 
audience, both her statements and anecdotes from the 
Ukrainian National Day celebration indicate that there are 
now more differences that similarities between these two 
former Soviet countries.  END COMMENT. 
MILES