VZCZCXRO4725
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHAH #1657 3580327
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240327Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3960
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 6045
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3739
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3598
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 4287
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1349
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 4224
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001657 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL ZK TX
SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN TOUTS PARTICIPATION IN CIS SUMMIT 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2. (SBU) President Berdimuhamedov on December 19 took part in a 
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) informal meeting in 
Kazakhstan, at Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev's dacha in the 
village of Akbulak.  Turkmen media reported that the heads of state 
discussed broad issues such as global warming and the need for 
consolidated efforts to tackle consequences of the global economic 
recession.  Berdimuhamedov publicly said that Turkmenistan will 
continue to develop bilateral and multilateral partnerships within 
the CIS. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Kremlin coverage of the meeting differed from the 
Turkmen media's.  The Kremlin termed the meeting a gathering of the 
presidents of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, 
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, with no mention of the CIS, probably 
because CIS members Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Uzbekistan did not 
attend.  In addition, Russian official sources also reported on 
one-on-one talks between Medvedev and Berdimuhamedov, whereas 
Turkmen media did not mention them. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Turkmenistan is an associate member of the CIS, which means 
that it has not ratified the CIS charter.  Former President Niyazov 
attended few of the CIS summits.  However, Berdimuhamedov appears to 
be paying more attention to these events than his predecessor.  He 
first participated in an informal CIS summit in June 2007, in Saint 
Petersburg, Russia, and again in Moscow in February 2008.  In 
September 2009, he travelled to the informal meeting of CIS heads in 
Aktau, Kazakhstan that focused on Caspian delimitation issues. 
 
¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: Berdimuhamedov appears to view CIS events as a 
good place to be seen and to maintain links with neighbors and 
historical allies.  However, the associate member status gives 
Turkmenistan the flexibility to shape its economic ties 
independently and to publicly continue to claim permanent 
neutrality.  END COMMENT. 
 
CURRAN