Diplomatic Briefing
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Newsline: U.S.appoints first Turkmenistan envoy in 5 years
TheUnited States has appointed its first ambassador to Turkmenistan in five years, the U.S. Embassy said, boosting ties with the reclusive Central Asian state as its companies pursue lucrative oil and gas deals. Robert Patterson has been appointed for three years, the embassy said in a statement, representing U.S. interests in a country bordering Afghanistan and Iran that hosts the world’s fourth-largest gas reserves. Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic of 5 million people, was largely isolated under the eccentric rule of its first leader Saparmurat Niyazov, who died in 2006 after imposing a formidable personality cult. His successor, President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, has pledged gradually to open upTurkmenistan to foreign investment. But he tolerates no dissent in a country from which vocal opponents to his rule have long since fled.
http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE74F1DO20110516
Newsline: Turkmen Leader Called “vindictive” In US Cables
Turkmenistan’s authoritarian president has been described in leaked U.S. diplomatic dispatches as a vain, vindictive liar, and authorities reportedly feared his being assassinated so much that a stray cat was once a suspect. The memos from U.S. Embassy staff in Turkmenistan published on the WikiLeaks website on Thursday portray the reclusive former Soviet Central Asia nation as a hive of corruption led by a dimwitted autocrat. In a cable dated last December, President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov is referred to by U.S. officials as “vain, suspicious, guarded, strict, very conservative, a practiced liar,” a good actor, and vindictive. The cable says that assessment of the president was made by an individual, but their identity has apparently been censored by WikiLeaks. Citing a source with close access to the president, the memo further notes he is wary of his intellectual superiors. “Since he’s not a very bright guy, our source offered, he is suspicious of a lot of people,” the note said. A separate cable dated in January describes two incidents involving the presidential motorcade that were perceived as possible assassination attempts, noting that there have been persistent rumors of a failed attempt to kill Berdymukhamedov in August 2009. In one, a motorist reportedly cut off the president’s motorcade. The hapless driver was “beaten black and blue,” sentenced to 25 years in jail for attempted assassination and the acting head of the capital’s traffic police and two deputies were immediately fired, the memo said. In the other, a cat darted out in front of the president’s car near his home and the security officer responsible for monitoring that area was promptly fired, the cable said, citing military sources. Another cable says the Russian natural gas company Itera tried to expedite deals by buying the Turkmenistan government a yacht reportedly worth $60 million. Turkmenistan’s leaders have wielded tight control over the former Soviet republic. The revelations in the formerly secret diplomatic cables are not likely to do much for Berdymukhamedov’s opinion of the United States, which the memo says he already dislikes.
http://wap.cbsnews.com/site?t=jumLcaRrrBei1mkILSCbPg&sid=cbsnews
