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O 190315Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7009
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 2257
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1620
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2321
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002160 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR S, D, P, SCA/CEN, INR/B, EUR/RPM, DRL 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KDEM KNNP SOCI OSCE KZ
SUBJECT:  KAZAKHSTAN:  DFM UMAROV DETAILS HIS DISSIDENT PAST TO A/S 
BLAKE 
 
ASTANA 00002160  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  A/S Robert Blake concluded his successful 
three-day visit to Kazakhstan with an elegant but relaxed dinner 
hosted by Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Umarov on December 15. 
Umarov revealed in great detail his personal journey from Soviet 
anti-nuclear dissident in the 1980s to senior diplomat today. 
Umarov explained why he believes the opposition plays an important 
role in society and expressed hope for strengthened high-level 
contacts.  Blake and Umarov pledged to work through the tough issues 
on our bilateral agenda.  It is remarkable that Umarov was so open 
in front of the most junior officers from his Foreign Ministry's 
Americas Desk, and indicates where Kazakhstan could go in its 
democratic evolution.  This kind of "hospitality evening" is 
essential for building trust and will pay dividends as Blake and 
Umarov lead our Annual Bilateral Consultations.  END SUMMARY. 
 
SOVIET-ERA ANTI-NUCLEAR MOVEMENT SHAPED UMAROV 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Umarov warmly welcomed Assistant Secretary of State for 
South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake and the other U.S. 
guests to his elegant table in a private room at the Rixos hotel. 
After initial pleasantries, Umarov began a long meditation on his 
evolution from Soviet-era anti-nuclear dissident to senior 
international diplomat.  He said that he was inspired to join the 
anti-nuclear movement in the dying days of the USSR because of the 
genuine outpouring of popular anguish over increased deformities in 
children and contamination in livestock and products from the 465 
nuclear tests that the Soviet Union had conducted near Semipalatinsk 
on the territory of what became independent Kazakhstan.  Umarov said 
he supported the Semei-Nevada International Anti-Nuclear Movement, 
founded by the Kazakhstani activist and poet (now Kazakhstan's 
ambassador to UNESCO) Olzhas Suleimenov.  He added that the 
Semei-Nevada movement is where he developed his respect for the 
opposition.  "We need them to hold us accountable and sharpen our 
minds." 
 
LINGUISTIC SKILLS CREATE A DIPLOMAT 
 
¶4.  (SBU) By 1996 Umarov had become a trade unionist, but his 
intellectual talents and excellent English-language skills brought 
him to the attention of Kanat Saudabayev, then head of the fledgling 
nation's consular service.  According to Umarov, Kazakhstan had no 
embassies at that time, but he accepted Saudabeyev's offer to join 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as its 18th officer.  In those early 
days Umarov sometimes served as President Nazarbayev's translator, 
and Nazarbayev, taking a shine to the young man, told him about the 
weight of responsibility he felt in taking the uncertain nation into 
its independence.  Nazarbayev told Umarov that he wanted Kazakhstan 
to be known not just for its leadership on nuclear weapons -- after 
all they had not chosen for the weapons to be in the country -- but 
for its economic and social progress.  In the face of staunch 
opposition from "red directors" and a "red parliament" to his 
proposed reforms, Nazarbayev had the constitution amended to permit 
more private investment, and for that, Umarov gave him real credit. 
 
 
PRAISE FOR SECRETARY CLINTON - PAST AND PRESENT 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Throughout the evening, Umarov returned to praise the 
United States and its role in Kazakhstan's evolution.  State 
Secretary-Foreign Minister Saudabayev expressed appreciation for the 
Secretary's Independence Day message, and Umarov's staff wanted to 
make sure we received Saudabayev's letter of appreciation to 
Secretary Clinton (NOTE:  Pouched to the Department.  END NOTE). 
Umarov praised former U.S. Ambassadors Elizabeth Jones and Larry 
Napper, who had pressed to move the U.S. Embassy to Astana, 
Kazakhstan's new diplomatic capital, noting that many other 
countries had dragged their feet on this controversial move. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On a more personal note, Umarov warmly remembered his 
first contacts with Hillary Clinton during her 1996 visit to 
 
ASTANA 00002160  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Kazakhstan as America's First Lady.  Umarov had served as the 
interpreter during Mrs. Clinton's tour of the Almaty museum.  He was 
impressed with her genuine interest in Abai Kunanbayev 
(Qunanbayuli), Kazakhstan's great intellectual hero, known as 
"Abai."  Umarov was doubly impressed when the next day the First 
Lady repeated some of the guide's words about Abai in her public 
comments.  Umarov said he became a fan forever when he received U.S. 
Presidential cuff links from the First Lady, which he still 
cherishes.  Umarov was especially pleased when Blake said that 
shortly after his swearing in, he had suggested to Secretary Clinton 
that she read "Apples are From Kazakhstan," the travelogue that 
offers an insightful picture of the country's historical, political, 
and cultural landscape.  Blake noted, to Umarov's delight, that the 
Secretary had praised it and recommended it to those around her, 
including her senior staff and her spouse. 
 
¶7. (SBU) COMMENT:  "Hospitality dinners" are essential in this 
political culture, because that is where the trust is forged to 
solve problems and achieve results.  Umarov is one of Kazakhstan's 
best up-and-coming diplomats, and he skillfully used the dinner to 
build the personal relationships that are key to advancing 
Kazakhstan's agenda and our interests, and that will pay off when he 
and Blake lead our Annual Bilateral Consultations.  He highlighted 
his government's key themes:  the desire for high-level engagement 
with the United States, more recognition of its non-proliferation 
legacy, the historical role of civil society even in 
pre-independence Kazakhstan, and the intellectual and social 
mobility that exists in this intriguing society.  The warm tone of 
the evening and the several toasts -- to Secretary of State Hillary 
Clinton, to her possible visit, to Kazakhstan's independence, and to 
the "free people of Kazakhstan" -- showed the government's earnest 
desire to strengthen its strategic partnership with the United 
States in every forum and at every level.  Equally intriguing to us 
was Umarov laying out his personal history and praising the 
constructive role of the opposition before the members of the MFA'S 
Americas Desk, including its most junior officers.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶8. (SBU) A/S Blake has cleared this cable. 
 
HOAGLAND