U.S. AND KAZAKHSTAN MAKE INITIAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CENTER AGREEMENT

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
United States and Kazakhstan Initial New International Science and Technology Center Agreement
Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
June 24, 2015

UNITED STATES EMBASSY ASTANA

On June 22, in Astana, Kazakhstan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation Programs Simon Limage initialed on behalf of the United States the Agreement Continuing the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) along with the European Union, Georgia, Japan, the Kingdom of Norway, Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Republic of Korea.

The ISTC, with its new headquarters at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, seeks to minimize incentives for scientists and engineers in states with technologies, expertise, and related materials applicable to WMD to engage in activities that could result in the proliferation of WMD or related materials by supporting and cooperating in research and development activities for peaceful purposes. The initialing of the agreement sets the stage for signing the agreement once all parties have completed their internal procedures.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Limage, as the US representative to the ISTC Governing Board, led a U.S. interagency delegation, which included technical experts from the Departments of State and Energy. In the course of the two day Governing Board meeting, significant decisions were made to streamline the ISTC, endorse plans to expand the organization to other regions, and enhance opportunities for scientific projects in new fields.

SECRETARY KERRY, KAZAKH FOREIGN MINISTER IDRISOV MAKE REMARKS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks With Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov Before Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
December 10, 2014

SECRETARY KERRY: It’s my pleasure to welcome Foreign Minister Idrisov of Kazakhstan. You okay? Sorry. I’m really delighted to welcome the foreign minister here and I want to congratulate him and Kazakhstan on the near 23rd anniversary of their independence. It’s on December 16th. And we have enjoyed a growing security partnership, economic partnership, on any number of issues. We are working on the challenge of ISIL, of counterterrorism. We’re very grateful for Kazakhstan’s engagement with us on a number of issues – nonproliferation, issues of Afghanistan, trade, development. We’re working hard on Kazakhstan’s accession to the WTO. And I think it’s fair to say that in the region the relationship between the United States and Kazakhstan is really one of the most consequential for us, and we’re very grateful for the leadership that Kazakhstan has been showing.

So we have a full agenda and I’m very, very pleased to welcome you, Mr. Foreign Minister. Thank you for taking time to be here.

FOREIGN MINISTER IDRISOV: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. It happens so that Kazakhstan is a little bit ahead of the United States and by Kazakh time it’s already almost 11th of December. So first of all, I’d like to congratulate Secretary Kerry with his birthday and wish him every success in his very important global endeavors. As Secretary Kerry said, we have very full agenda. Our bilateral agenda covers all sorts of issues ranging from security, nonproliferation, investment, energy sector, of course nation and democracy building, and education. But we also have very robust global and regional agenda. We do discuss issues on Afghanistan, around negotiations on Iran, on crises like the so-called Islamic State or the Ebola epidemic. So we are tuned to the same wave and we are very happy to have this very meaningful strategic partnership. I am very proud that today we will have the third meeting of our Strategic Partnership Dialogue with Secretary Kerry, and I came here to confirm our strong desire to cement further the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the United States and take it to the future.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, Yerlan.

FOREIGN MINISTER IDRISOV: Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: I’d like to just mention one other thing which I was reminded of as the foreign minister spoke. Kazakhstan has initiated a very important education program for Afghan students, some $50 million they’ve committed to this effort. There are Afghans who are now in significant numbers studying in Kazakhstan, and this will be a critical component of capacity building for Afghanistan and of stability. So we’re very grateful for that kind of major effort. We thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER IDRISOV: Thank you. Thank you very much.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, my friend.

FOREIGN MINISTER IDRISOV: Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Come on in and have a --

QUESTION: Secretary Kerry, are you concerned for U.S. personnel overseas following the release of the report?

SECRETARY KERRY: I think we’ve addressed that (inaudible). Thank you.

SOYUZ TMA-15M ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM KAZAKHSTAN

FROM:  NASA

 The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014 as seen in this long exposure carrying Expedition 42 Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA, and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (ESA) into orbit to begin their five and a half month mission on the International Space Station.  Image Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

STATE DEPARTMENT UNDER SECRETARY ROSE GOTTEMOELLER'S REMARKS ON NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Nuclear Weapons Testing: History, Progress, Challenges: Verification and Entry Into Force of the CTBT

Remarks

Rose Gottemoeller

Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security 

Washington, DC

September 15, 2014

As Prepared

Thank you, Daryl. Thank you also to my esteemed colleague, General Klotz. I think this might be the first time we have been on a panel together in our current positions, but I hope it won’t be the last. On this subject in particular, it is great to have the opportunity for us to communicate why the entire Administration sees this Treaty as effective, verifiable and absolutely beneficial to our national security.

Thank you also to the Embassy of Kazakhstan, Deputy Chief of Mission Yerkin Akhinzhanov, the Embassy of Canada, the Arms Control Association, Global Green and partners for hosting us here at USIP. Finally, thank you to my former boss, Secretary Moniz for his remarks earlier.

Secretary Kerry was actually right here just a year ago, speaking about nuclear security and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). He quoted a line from President Kennedy’s American University speech that talked about a total ban on nuclear explosive test being “so near and yet so far.” We remain somewhat in this place today, fifty years later – “so near and yet so far.” We know the goal remains worthy and we know that it is still the right one for American national security. The difference today is that we know we have the tools to make it a reality.

General Klotz has just covered some stockpile and verification issues, so I would like to focus on the national security benefits of the Treaty and the process of moving the United States towards entry into force. I will also give you a little readout on how I’ve used my time this year to advance the case for the Treaty.

First and foremost, it is clear that CTBT is a key part of leading nuclear weapons states toward a world of diminished reliance on nuclear weapons, reduced nuclear competition, and eventual nuclear disarmament.

An in-force CTBT will hinder states that do not have nuclear weapons from developing advanced nuclear weapons capabilities.

States interested in pursuing or advancing a nuclear weapons program would have to either risk deploying weapons without the confidence that they would work properly, or accept the international condemnation and reprisals that would follow a nuclear explosive test.

An in-force Treaty would also impede states with more established nuclear weapon capabilities from confirming the performance of advanced nuclear weapon designs that they have not tested successfully in the past.

Because of this, an in-force CTBT will also constrain regional arms races. These constraints will be particularly important in Asia, where states are building up and modernizing nuclear forces.

For our part, ratification will help enhance our leadership role in nonproliferation and strengthen our hand in pursuing tough actions against suspected proliferators. That is more important than ever, in our current global environment. Nuclear security is a preeminent goal for President Obama and this Administration.

All told, it is in our interest to close the door on nuclear explosive testing forever.

As many of you know, I was invited to speak in the Marshall Islands on the 60th anniversary of the Castle Bravo nuclear test. It was quite an honor and while there, I was able to meet with government and community leaders, as well as displaced communities. I told them that it is the United States’ deep understanding of the consequences of nuclear weapons – including the devastating health effects– that has guided and motivated our efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate these most hazardous of weapons.

About a month after visiting the Marshall Islands, I travelled to Hiroshima. Upon arriving, I visited the Cenotaph and the Peace Museum and spoke with an atomic survivor. The day was a somber, but critically important reminder that all nations should avoid the horrors of nuclear war.

We have made great strides over the past forty years, achieving an 85 percent reduction in the U.S. nuclear stockpile since 1967 and creating agreements such as the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, START, New START and more. But, we still have far to go.

It was President Ronald Reagan who, speaking before the Japanese Diet, pronounced clearly and with conviction that “there can be only one policy for preserving our precious civilization in this modern age. A nuclear war can never be won and must never be fought.”

Those words had great resonance for the students that I spoke with at Hiroshima University last April. My conversation with them focused on the CTBT and how it could contribute to reducing global nuclear threats.

Bright, engaged and motivated, the students were eager to know what they could do to help in the push towards entry into force. I told them, as I tell all the students I meet, that the most important thing that supporters of the Treaty can do is to educate their friends, their family and their communities.

That is something that I will be continuing to do throughout the year, with trips to various U.S. states to speak with students, faith and community groups, as well as expert audiences. In fact, I will be at Stanford on Wednesday to do just that.

Now, I will pivot to the question that is asked each and every time this Treaty is discussed: “What is the plan for Senate ratification?”

The answer is simple. First comes education, and then comes discussion and last and most importantly, comes debate. It is only through that process that you get to a place where a vote could happen.

We are reintroducing this Treaty to the American public, since it has been quite some time it has been discussed outside the Capital Beltway. We are and will continue to outline the clear and convincing facts about our ability to maintain the nuclear stockpile without explosive testing and our ability to effectively monitor and verify Treaty compliance. Both Secretary Moniz and General Klotz have spoken about these two issues this afternoon and they are strong allies in this effort.

We are and will continue to make it clear that a global ban on nuclear explosive testing will hinder regional arms races and impede advancements in nuclear stockpiles around the world.

With an emphasis on a healthy, open dialogue, rather than a timeline, we are working with the Senate to re-familiarize Members with the Treaty. A lot of CTBT-related issues have changed since 1999, but the Senate has changed a lot since then, too. It is up to us, as policymakers and experts before the American people, to practice due diligence in consideration of this Treaty – that means briefings, hearings at the appropriate time, more briefings, trips to Labs, trips to Vienna and the CTBTO, more briefings, etc., etc.. The Senators should have every opportunity to ask questions, many questions, until they are satisfied.

I want to make one thing very clear: this Administration has no intention of rushing this or demanding premature action before we have had a thorough and rigorous discussion and debate.

I know that it is the official sport of Washington, but I would ask people to refrain from counting votes right now. Our first priority is education and our focus should be on the hard work that goes into any Senate consideration of a Treaty. The New START process can serve as our touchstone. I realize that is less fun than reading tea leaves. I realize that it’s unglamorous and deliberate, but that is how good policy is made and that is how treaties get across the finish line.

Of course, as we have said many times, there is no reason for the remaining Annex 2 states to wait for the United States before completing their own ratification processes. We have been pleased to hear some positive statements coming from Annex 2 states in recent months, and we hope that positive vibe turns into action. I would also like to congratulate Congo, which very recently ratified the CTBT.

Finally, we urge States to provide adequate financial and political support for the completion of the CTBT verification regime and its provisional operations between now and the entry into force of the treaty. The CTBTO, now under the able guidance of Dr. Zerbo, has and will continue to do a fantastic job of readying the Treaty’s verification regime for eventual entry into force. For those of you who have the chance to visit the CTBTO headquarters in Vienna, I recommend the tour of the radionuclide detection equipment on the roof. It’s really impressive!

In closing, I will reiterate that we have a lot of work to do, but the goal is worthy. An in-force CTBT will benefit the United States and indeed, the whole world.

Let’s get to work on it together. Thank you.

BOSTON BOMBER FRIEND CONVICTED OF IMPEDING BOMBING INVESTIGATION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Monday, July 21, 2014

Jury Convicts Man of Impeding Boston Marathon Bombing Investigation

A federal jury in Boston has convicted a friend of alleged Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, for impeding the bombing investigation.

Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz of the District of Massachusetts and Special Agent in Charge Vincent B. Lisi of the FBI’s Boston Field Division, made the announcement today.

The jury found Azamat Tazhayakov, 20, guilty of conspiring to obstruct justice and obstructing justice with the intent to impede the Boston Marathon bombing investigation.   U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for October 16, 2014.

In August 2013, Tazhayakov was indicted for obstructing a terrorism investigation.   Tazhayakov is a national of Kazakhstan who was temporarily living in the United States on a student visa while attending the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, but at the time of his arrest his visa had been revoked.

The evidence at trial proved that on April 18, 2013, after the release of photographs of the two men suspected of carrying out the Marathon bombings (who were later identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev), Tazhayakov and others went to Tsarnaev’s dormitory room and found items that linked Tsarnaev to the bombing, including fireworks from which “gunpowder” appeared to have been removed and a jar of Vaseline that they believed could be used to make bombs.   A forensic examiner testified that Vaseline can be used to make improvised explosive devices.   A month before the bombing, Tsarnaev had told Tazhayakov that it would be good to die as shaheed (martyr) and that he knew how to build a bomb.   Tsarnaev also identified specific ingredients one could use to make a bomb, including “gunpowder.”

After searching Tsarnaev’s dormitory room on the evening of April 18, 2013, Tazhayakov helped remove Tsarnaev’s laptop and a backpack containing fireworks, a jar of Vaseline, and a thumb drive.   Later that night while Tazhayakov was monitoring the manhunt for the Tsarnaev brothers, he discussed getting rid of the backpack containing the fireworks and agreed to get rid of it.    The backpack was then placed in a garbage bag and then thrown into a dumpster outside Tazhayakov’s New Bedford apartment.   The FBI recovered this backpack a week later, after 25 agents spent two days searching a landfill in New Bedford.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison on the obstruction of justice count and five years on the conspiracy count, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 for each charge.   Tazhayakov will also be deported at the conclusion of this prosecution.   Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.   Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI's Boston Division and member agencies of the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) which is comprised of more than 30 federal, state and local enforcement agencies.   U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Massachusetts State Police, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Department of Public Safety, New Bedford Police Department, Dartmouth Police Department, U.S. Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General, U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Essex County Sheriff’s Office, and Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, provided assistance to this investigation.

T he case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Stephanie Siegmann and John A. Capin of Ortiz’s Anti-Terrorism and National Security Unit with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

LEARNING TO WALK IN SPACE

FROM:  NASA 

Spacewalk Training at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory

In this image taken on Nov. 7, 2012, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst (partially obscured), both Expedition 40/41 flight engineers, attired in training versions of their Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits, are submerged in the waters of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) near NASA's Johnson Space Center. Divers (out of frame) are in the water to assist Wiseman and Gerst in their rehearsal, which is intended to help prepare them for work on the exterior of the International Space Station. Wiseman, Gerst and Maxim Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will launch to the space station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on May 28, 2014, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. They are scheduled to return to Earth in November. Image Credit: NASA.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE GIVES INTERVIEW TO AL JAZEERA

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Interview With Al Jazeera
Interview
Robert O. Blake, Jr.
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
Almaty, Kazakhstan
April 26, 2013

Al Jazeera: Ambassador Blake, thank you for talking to Al Jazeera.

When we last met, it was 12 months ago in Dushanbe, in Tajikistan. You were talking to me then about the New Silk Road and those kinds of initiatives that would help Afghanistan reintegrate into the region.

What positives have actually come about since those 12 months and what are you hoping to get out specifically from these talks?

Assistant Secretary Blake: Thank you first of all for the opportunity to join you today.

As you say, I think what was important last year in Dushanbe was the fact that there was a regional consensus in favor of integration. But now we really need to see actual concrete progress. So I think what you’ve seen today in this Heart of Asia Conference is agreement by all the countries of the region, not just the direct region, but Turkey, Russia, China, India, on six very practical confidence-building measures on things like infrastructure, on trade, on things like counter-narcotics, counter-terrorism, all of which will have action plans devoted to them so there can really be concrete action going forward.

Al Jazeera: But the main thing, of course, is security. You talk about this opportunity for long term security, through stabilization programs, through that reintegration process. But it’s a bit of a catch-22 situation. You can’t have investment come in until they’ve got security. Let’s give an example. The TAPI Pipeline. There are issues about demand and whether it’s really necessary, but at the same time the countries that have signed up to it -- Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India -- in principle they signed up but the project has been going on for 20 years. Nothing yet has actually started happening on the ground.

Assistant Secretary Blake: I guess I’d flip your question and say that yes, it has been going on for 20 years, but it’s really notable that the progress that’s been achieved has been in the last year. That’s because, first of all, there’s a very important market now in India; and secondly, there’s a real will on the part of all these countries to make this happen. So you’re seeing very practical agreements on things like gas sales purchase agreements. Now there are efforts underway to actually identify who is going to lead this consortium and build the pipeline.

That’s one example.

Another one is something called the CASA 1000 Project. The Central Asia South Asia electricity transmission project. Again, there’s a lot of forward progress on that and multilateral development banks are lining up all the financing for that. It’s a $900 million project.

So I think there really is concrete progress being made.

Another example are the rail lines. Kazakhstan today announced that they are, with Turkmenistan, going to build a rail line south to Afghanistan. Likewise, there’s a rail line going from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Tajikistan.

There are many many concrete facts on the ground that are now being created that show there really is regional ownership of this.

Al Jazeera: Thank you very much, Ambassador Blake.

Just a final thought really, key to all of this is that security issue and respecting Afghanistan’s sovereignty. There are still problems, of course, or consideration that a lot of the countries have their own interests when it comes to Afghanistan. That’s something as well that the organizers here want to emphasize needs to be resolved so that there’s a unified approach to Afghanistan. There will be a declaration after these talks end and then expected more talks as the clock ticks down towards that 2014 drawdown date.

REMARKS ON SOUTH AND CENTRAL EUROPE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Remarks at the "Heart Of Asia" Ministerial
Remarks
William J. Burns
Deputy Secretary
Almaty, Kazakhstan
April 26, 2013

Thank you, President Nazarbayev and Foreign Minister Idrissov, for welcoming us to Almaty. On behalf of Secretary Kerry, I want to express my deep gratitude to you and the government of Kazakhstan for hosting this ministerial and for your exemplary contributions to the Istanbul Process.

I also want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Foreign Minister Rassoul and Deputy Foreign Minister Ludin, for their extraordinary leadership and devotion to their country and its future.

Eighteen months since the inauguration of the Istanbul Process, we can point to some important milestones in Afghanistan. Afghans are taking the lead for security across their country. They are working to advance a national dialogue on peace and reconciliation and to prepare for next year’s important elections. They are moving toward greater economic dynamism and private sector led growth. And today, Afghanistan is participating as a sovereign partner in discussions about the future of its region, and the region is uniting in support of Afghanistan.

Regional engagement, coordination, and integration are essential prerequisites for sustainable stability across South and Central Asia. I would like to speak very briefly about what each of us can - and must - continue to do to support the security, political, and economic transitions underway in Afghanistan and restore the region to its historical role as a hub of global commerce, ideas, and culture.

First, on the security transition, the international coalition has laid out a clear plan of support. The Afghan National Security Forces now lead nearly 90 percent of all combat operations in Afghanistan. Later this spring, they will be in the lead 100 percent of the time. And as members of the coalition reaffirmed in the Chicago Summit Declaration on Afghanistan just over a year ago, we stand ready to continue to train, advise, and assist Afghan forces beyond the end of the ISAF mission in 2014.

Afghanistan’s neighbors and partners have an important role to play in supporting a successful security transition.

You can do this by helping to train, finance, and equip the Afghan army and police. And you can do this by expanding your coordination with Afghanistan to stem the movement of dangerous material, people, and finances across borders. The counternarcotics and counterterrorism roadmaps presented today are a welcome and important first step.

Second, sustainable security will require a successful political transition. In less than a year, Afghans will choose what kind of country they want to live in, what kind of leaders they want to empower, and, ultimately, how they will bring to an end the conflict that has divided their country for over three decades. It is our hope that the elections next April will be a unifying moment for Afghanistan, one that advances a reconciliation process that ends the violence and brings peace to the region.

President Karzai and the Afghan High Peace Council have set a clear roadmap for reconciliation. All of us have a role in helping to get this process underway. We must all make clear to the Taliban that if they seize this chance, they could one day enjoy the benefits of peace, legitimacy, and political participation. But if they reject peace and choose to maintain their alliance with al-Qaida, they will prolong a conflict that has already brought far too much misery to their country.

Last but certainly not least is Afghanistan’s economic transition away from donor dependency and toward increased self-sufficiency and private sector-led development. The framework of mutual commitments and mutual accountability agreed to in Tokyo last year is essential for this transition to deliver. And so is the growing regional consensus and ownership of what we call the New Silk Road Vision.

We all remain committed to advancing that vision, and to our belief that regional interconnectedness is vitally important, both as a driver of economic development and as an anchor of security. From increasing infrastructure links to progress on potentially transformative energy projects such as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline, and increasing regional embrace of the importance of transparent and inclusive trade regimes like the WTO, the countries of the region are realizing that the promise of regional connectivity and integration are tremendous.

Afghanistan and its neighbors share many common threats that will require solutions developed and carried out by Afghanistan and its neighbors, and supported by the international community. We applaud the important progress made on implementing the confidence building measures agreed to in February 2012 and we will continue to do our part to support this process.

There is no escaping the simple fact that Afghanistan’s fortunes are tied to its neighborhood, just as the neighborhood’s fortunes are tied to Afghanistan. We look forward to continuing to work with all of you to ensure that Afghanistan and the Heart of Asia realize their shared aspiration for a stable, secure, and prosperous future.

Thank you.

THREE MORE JOURNEY INTO SPACE

FROM:  NASA

New Trio Launches to Join Expedition 34
The Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station at 7:12 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Dec. 19.

EXPEDITION 33 LANDS IN KAZAKHSTAN

FROM: NASA

Expedition 33 Lands in the Snowy Steppe of Kazakhstan
Expedition 33 Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineers Aki Hoshide and Yuri Malenchenko undocked from the International Space Station in their Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft at 5:26 p.m. EST Sunday Nov. 18, 2012. The trio landed just before sunrise in the snowy steppe of Kazakhstan at 8:56 p.m. Sunday (7:56 a.m. Monday, Kazakhstan time).
Credti-NASA/ISS

SOYUZ ROCKET TRAVELS TO THE LAUNCH PAD IN KAZAKHSTAN

 

FROM: NASA

Rocket Rollout

The Soyuz rocket is rolled out to the launch pad by train, on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 23. The rocket will send Expedition 33/34 Flight Engineer Kevin Ford of NASA, Soyuz Commander Oleg Novitskiy and Flight Engineer Engineer Evgeny Tarelkin of ROSCOSMOS on a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

Image Credit-NASA-Bill Ingalls

BRIEFING ON AFGHANISTAN ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
On-the-Record Briefing with International MediaPress Availability
Robert O. Blake, Jr.
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
Almaty, Kazakhstan
August 15, 2012

A/S Blake: I am in Kazakhstan for a few hours. Right after this I will be having a meeting with business community to talk a little bit about all our efforts to promote regional economic integration and help Afghanistan and so forth. I thought it would be useful to talk to each of you as well about Kazakhstan and some of our regional integration efforts. I will just make a few opening comments and I will be glad to take your questions.

We are on the record unless we say otherwise. Just to start with, I am really delighted to be back here in Almaty and particularly delighted to be here in the wake of Kazakhstan’s great Olympics success, which I gather got quite a lot of attention here and got a lot of attention in the U.S. A relatively small country like Kazakhstan getting six gold medals and ten medals overall was quite a bit, so congratulations.

Reuters: Seven medals.

Blake: Was it?

Reuters: Seven gold medals and twelfth ranking among the countries.

Blake: Right. In terms of our relations with Kazakhstan, I think they are deepest and broadest of all countries in Central Asia. That is reflected in our decision earlier this year to establish a strategic partnership dialogue with Kazakhstan because we are increasingly working not just bilaterally with Kazakhstan but increasingly multilaterally. Not only in terms of Kazakhstan’s efforts in regional organizations, such the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, but also increasingly Kazakhstan is looking to expand its own assistance programs, to play a larger role in the regional integration process and work a lot on some of the very important regional issues, such as non-proliferation and so on. All of these are very consistent with what we are trying to accomplish and again one of the reasons why we have a very good partnership with Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan, and really Almaty in particular, is also important, I think, because it is a regional hub, not just for business, but also for a lot of the international organizations that we work with to try to promote this regional integration idea. Again it is a good opportunity for me to have a few hours to come here. Secretary Clinton has talked a lot about our goals helping Afghanistan to become a secure state and a prosperous country and a secure, stable, and prosperous country within a secure, stable, and prosperous region. There have been a tremendous number of efforts over the last few years to help that goal. You know about a number of international conferences that took place, including the NATO Summit in Lisbon in 2010, continuing with conferences in Istanbul and Bonn and recently the NATO summit in Chicago and the Tokyo Conference in early July. I think all of those, particularly the last two conferences, have sent a very strong message of the strong long-term commitment of the international community to Afghanistan’s future, and I want to say that we appreciate very much Kazakhstan’s role in all of this.

Kazakhstan sent a representative to the NATO Summit and was also strongly represented in all these conferences. It is also taking a leadership role and is helping to develop all these transport corridors. For example, a rail line going down through Turkmenistan to Afghanistan and also some other important efforts they are helping with, for example, training young Afghan students here in Kazakhstan. I think it is quite an important time and it is important that we have Kazakhstan working with us. In terms of our wider efforts, you have all heard Secretary Clinton talk about this New Silk Road vision. She has talked about how we want to help these three important transitions that are going to occur in Afghanistan. The security transition, you are all aware of, whereby all of the NATO troops will leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014. There will be a residual force that will remain and that remains to be negotiated, the exact composition of that.

In the meantime, we are all working to build up the Afghan national security forces so that they can take complete control over their own security. There is equally important political transition that will occur with the elections that will take place in 2014. And then last but not least, the economic transition as well, to help Afghanistan become more self-sufficient economically, to build up a private sector, and a very important part of that is the regional integration piece.

There are really two different parts to this. First is what we call the software, which is trade liberalization, reduction of non-tariff trade barriers, reducing delays on border clearances, and those kinds of obstacles to trade. The second is the equally important task of all the infrastructure – the web of roads, pipelines, electricity transmission lines and so forth that are really the nuts and bolts of regional economic connectivity. I think quite a lot of progress has been made on projects like the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and a lot of these railroads that I talked about.

Again, we appreciate very much the role Kazakhstan played in that. In March of this year, many of you may have been at this conference in Tajikistan, the Regional Economic Cooperation Conference for Afghanistan, RECCA, which for the first time resulted in quite a good detailed blueprint that all of the region endorsed. It was developed by Afghanistan and endorsed by the whole region and included series of projects and also all these software projects that I talked about. So, there is a good clear regional consensus on the way forward. Progress has been made and again we do appreciate the support Kazakhstan has provided to that. With those opening remarks, let me turn it over to you. We have about 20 minutes and then I have to run off to another event. Thank you for your time and thanks for coming.

AP: On the software issue, I am interested about Uzbekistan in particular because they seem to be the country that creates a lot of problems, seems to me, in terms of the political situation and actually lately the investment situation is looking as grim as ever, latest problem over there, with one of the mobile service providers. Given how little progress we see in Uzbekistan, how realistic it is to talk about the software being in place for Uzbekistan’s role in the region.

Blake: You are right there are challenges now in the investment climate in Uzbekistan. I am going to Uzbekistan later today and we are bringing with us a fairly large delegation of American companies. So, there is still a lot of private sector interest. But I think there is still quite a lot Uzbekistan needs to do to improve its investment climate, such as the currency convertibility issue, and a lot of bureaucratic procedures that still make it difficult to do business in Uzbekistan. As to your wider question, I think, first of all, it is important to note that Uzbekistan has been quite an important leader in developing many of the kinds of things that I talked about. For example, Uzbekistan built a rail line south to Mazar-e-Sharif in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank.

That is now the main rail line that goes through Central Asia, and a lot of the equipment and supplies for our troops in Afghanistan go through that rail line. Secondly, Uzbekistan has provided a great deal of electricity to Afghanistan that helped light Kabul and many other parts of Afghanistan. That’s been a tremendous help. I think they are cooperating in a lot of these efforts that the ADB has on the way, for example the CAREC effort, where there is I think quite a lot of important work to get at these issues, like how do you reduce the border clearance and delays, how do you address corruption, how do you begin to harmonize customs and other types of regulations. I think Uzbekistan is cooperating. They have an interest in that. They are the most centrally located country. So, this is a work in progress. This is something very much on our agenda. This is something that we want to work on with our friends in Uzbekistan to try to make progress on.

Bloomberg: As I am from Bloomberg, a gas pipeline is what we are more interested more in. You mentioned TAPI. Taking into account that China has built a big pipeline. And Russia has a project for another pipeline from Turkmenistan. Do you think the project will be feasible and when it can be realized?

Blake: Do you mean feasible in terms of gas supplies?

Bloomberg: Yes.

Blake: I think there are sufficient gas supplies. We have always supported the development of multiple pipelines out of Turkmenistan and other countries as well to support their energy independence. But we see that the TAPI gas pipeline is particularly important because it’s going to join two of the most important end-points in this regional connectivity that we talk about, Turkmenistan and India. India, of course, has gigantic energy needs because of its fast-growing economy. They need lots of gas. I think that is what really helped drive this project. There is now a real market in India and they can afford to pay for the gas. Turkmenistan has sufficient gas to fuel this pipeline.

The pipeline would also provide significant transit revenues for both Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is also quite important to this vision that I talked earlier about for Afghanistan. So, in terms of the pipeline I think there has been good progress on what they call gas sale-purchase agreements between these countries. The next milestone is that there will be a road show that will take place sometime in September, at which they will begin to have concrete discussions about who is going to form and lead this consortium to actually build this pipeline. This is a crucial series of discussions that will take place.

Bloomberg: Are American companies going to be engaged?

Blake: Certainly. The road show will be going to the United States but also other countries as well. Many American companies are very interested in participating.

Bloomberg: Do you mean investors or contractors?

Blake: It depends on what’s on offer. There are a lot of risks to participating in such a pipeline. Part of their consideration will be what kind of incentives Turkmenistan will be prepared to offer international companies to get involved in that project. We will see when the road show takes place.

Reuters: Tajikistan - How do you assess the security situation given the recent events in Gorno-Badakhshan? What has the Tajikistan government asked for in terms of security assurances ahead of the drawdown role that the U.S. will play in Tajikistan?

Blake: First of all, I think the situation in Khorogh has stabilized somewhat. I think the curfew and so forth still remains there. We have been very active in helping to evacuate some of the American citizens that were in that part of the country. We continue to follow the situation very closely. This is something of significant concern to us. This is an area that has not always been under the control of the central government in Tajikistan. This is an area where a lot of drug smuggling takes place. So, it shows importance of some of the work that we and others have underway, to help the government provide border security, to be able to monitor what comes across that border, particularly in that region. It also reinforces the need for the government to continue to take its own measures to stop the drug trade, to stop a lot of these narco-criminal networks that are operating in that part of the country. So, we support them in their efforts to do so. We have various efforts underway to help the Tajik government. One of the important things that they must do is to address some of the corrupt activities of their own border guards and others who are helping to facilitate some of this trade. I think it is a two-way street, where the international community can help with border security and other things, and the Tajik government itself must take steps to address some of the corrupt activities.

As to the future, I think Tajikistan has been a very strong supporter of what we are trying to accomplish in Afghanistan. They hosted this very important RECCA conference. They have always been open to any way they can help Afghanistan. They, of course, are themselves very poor. But they strongly support these regional integration efforts that we are trying to promote. So, we see Tajikistan as an important partner and we want to try to work with them as much as possible to address some of the challenges that they face, particularly the narcotics trafficking and the border security issues. They have legitimate concerns about attempts from groups that are based either in Afghanistan or Pakistan trying to cross their borders, either to attack their own government or move up to Kyrgyzstan or potentially even Kazakhstan. It is very important for them to work not only with the international community, but also with Kyrgyzstan and other countries in the region to address these problems.

AP: Going back to Uzbekistan…Would you have a chance to talk to raise the issue of accreditation for foreign journalists, which has been an issue for number of years. There is that issue.

Blake: Accreditation to visit or to be based there?

AP: Actually, to visit. I have been here for four years and I have never been granted any kind of permission, even to attend a conference or something like that. And I tried.

Blake: In general, we do talk a lot about freedom of the press and freedom of the media. We have problems with some of the American human rights organizations, like Human Rights Watch and others. But I was not aware that there was that obstacle. I will be glad to talk about that.

AP: The only international agency that is allowed is AFP.

Blake: I know that CNN was recently granted access. They went and generated quite a lot of reports.

AP: They did, although it’s a long story... It is quite conditional given the content of their reports. Also in Uzbekistan, there have been some reports from Russian media recently suggesting the possibility that during the drawdown during 2014 that military equipment might be left along. What assurances can be made making certain that the wrong things do not end in the wrong hands, by which I mean weaponry.

Blake: First of all, the process of allocating Excess Defense Articles is only just beginning. We are beginning the consultations on that. It won’t be just for Uzbekistan but for all countries partnering on NDN. There will be quite detailed conversations with our military people based in embassies in each of these posts, with host nation counterparts on this thing. With respect to Uzbekistan, I do not think there will be any lethal weapons of any kind that will be offered. I think most of the kind of things that will be on offer will be military vehicles, Humvees, those kind of things. It is in our interests to provide those kinds of equipment. Uzbekistan has been a strong supporter of the NDN. That has in turn raised their profile with international terrorist organizations, who may want to target Uzbekistan in retribution. So, it is very much in our interest to help Uzbekistan defend itself against such attacks.

We are certainly prepared to think about how we can do that. I myself have been engaged over the last year in the U.S. Congress to get a waiver so that we can provide non-lethal military assistance to Uzbekistan, even though they have not met a lot of the human rights conditions that would allow for more regular military assistance. That waiver has been approved. We are providing non-lethal military assistance now and will continue to do so, and the EDA process will be one way that we could help.

AP: There have been concerns expressed that perhaps in an informal fashion that somehow things might end in the wrong hands. I am wondering how much forward thinking there have been to make sure that has not happened because it is one thing to say we do not anticipate this to happen and another is … I mean the area of material not covered by the waiver would end up with Uzbek soldiers…

Blake: I wouldn’t worry about that. We have a very detailed and a very careful process of vetting all these things. We follow where these things are going. In some cases there has to be end-use monitoring.

Reuters: On Kazakhstan -- I wonder how closely you have been following the situation with Vladimir Kozlov, the opposition leader who goes on trial on Thursday. To what extent has Kazakhstan as an important partner, how has Kazakhstan progressed in judicial reform and human rights record?

Blake: First of all, this is an important issue that we talk about a lot with our friends in Kazakhstan. We think that Kazakhstan as a former chair of OSCE has a particular responsibility to show that it is making progress on these issues. We will be following very closely the trial of Mr. Kozlov and we hope it is going to be conducted in a fair, impartial, and open way, that we and others will be able to monitor the trial. We also hope that the trial itself will not undermine some of the progress that Kazakhstan is making to develop a multi-party democracy. We are pleased that for the first time, as a result of the most recent elections, there are now three parties in the Parliament. We want to try to encourage these parties to take an active role. Again, we do not want to see this trial undermine that progress.

AP: Do you think it will?

Blake: I don’t want to speculate. We will see. Obviously that is why we are going to monitor it closely.

Bloomberg: Talking about Kazakhstan….There was a riot and a few terrorist attacks, attempts I mean. Are you more concerned about political stability here? What is your impression?

Blake: I wouldn’t say we are concerned about political stability. I would say we share the concern of the local authorities about these attacks. It underlines again the importance of the counter-terrorism cooperation that we have with our friends in Kazakhstan. But it also underlines the importance of the authorities’ doing everything they can to respond to the needs and grievances of Kazakhstani citizens and not allowing these grievances to go unaddressed and perhaps give rise to terrorism or violent confrontation as opposed to peaceful means of resolving disputes. These are all part of our dialogue with our friends in the government and an important part of what we talk about all the time. We will have another session at the UN General Assembly in September. We strongly support what Kazakhstan is trying to achieve here. We are working with them. But we do believe they need to take further steps on things like religious freedom. You all have heard us talk about our concerns on the new religion law, which requires many groups now to re-register. Those kinds of things, if not properly handled, can give rise to greater grievances against the government and indirectly fuel the kinds of incidents that we have seen. It is important for the government to take steps not only on the counter-terrorism front but also on a wider democracy front.

Reuters: In these negotiations, how receptive are the authorities to these recommendations?

Blake: I think they are receptive. We always hear that they want to proceed in a measured but steady way to make progress on those things. We want to see that. Again, it is in their interests to do that. I think, candidly, many Kazakhstanis that we have spoken to have said that they understand that a lot of attacks that we have seen from groups like Jund al-Khalifa are not from international terrorist networks. These are due to grievances that are locally based, and therefore it underlines the importance of the government’s taking actions to address those grievances. Thank you for your time.

SOYUZ TMA-03M SPACECRAFT LANDS

The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

SOYUZ EXPEDITION 30 LIFTOFF

Expedition 30 Lifts Off
The Soyuz TMA-03M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011, carrying Expedition 30 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit and European Space Agency astronaut and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers to the International Space Station.
Image Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi