United States Makes Push to Improve Relations with Energy-Rich Turkmenistan

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to meet with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov when the latter travels to the United States in late September to attend the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting would confirm Turkmenistan's emergence as a major arena of competition between the United States and Russia.

The US Embassy in Ashgabat confirmed that a Rice-Berdymukhamedov meeting was in the offing, without specifying an exact time or date. Berdymukhamedov is scheduled to address the General Assembly on September 26.

The United States has intensively courted gas-rich Turkmenistan since Berdymukhamedov succeeded former dictator Saparmurat Niyazov, who died suddenly in December 2006. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. According to Evan A. Feigenbaum, the deputy US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, 18 US government delegations – 15 from the executive branch and three from the Congress – have traveled to Turkmenistan over the past nine months, probing for ways to strengthen bilateral relations. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "Turkmenistan is a small country that stirs large interest," said Feigenbaum, who examined the current state of US-Turkmen relations during a September 17 presentation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.

Feigenbaum said the two governments' broadening dialogue covered many spheres, including economic development, democratization, security cooperation, education and public health. While the United States may be engaged in a variety of ways, Washington's focus is clearly on energy. Accordingly, the United States is working to secure Ashgabat's commitment to export a sizable share of its gas via a planned trans-Caspian pipeline – a project that has Washington's strong backing. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In addition, US officials would like to see American and European firms gain opportunities to help Turkmen entities develop the country's reserves.

During his presentation, Feigenbaum cautioned that developing untapped reserves in Turkmenistan would likely prove "technically challenging." Therefore, he added, Ashgabat could benefit greatly from Western technology, as well as private-sector investment. The clear implication was that if Turkmenistan continued to rely on Russia as its dominant energy partner, Ashgabat's energy resources stood a poor chance of developing to its fullest potential. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Despite the backhanded swipe at Russia's inefficient energy sector, Feigenbaum insisted that US policy toward Turkmenistan was being driven purely by bilateral considerations, and was not intertwined with the broader maneuvering among the United States, Russia and China for economic and political advantage in Central Asia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. American policy makers do not view Turkmenistan as "as a surrogate in some larger geopolitical contest," Feigenbaum insisted.

To facilitate an expansion of bilateral ties, US officials have tried to draw a line separating Niyazov's regime, which gained the reputation as one of the most repressive on earth, from the current administration. Feigenbaum, for example, placed most of the blame on Niyazov for keeping US-Turkmen ties to a minimum during the post-Soviet era.

Washington now aims to "build on our shared record of success, to enhance cooperation in those areas that did not live up to full potential, and to promote reforms and changes that might, ultimately, help to narrow our differences," Feigenbaum said. To help differentiate Berdymukhamedov from Niyazov, the deputy secretary cited the new Turkmen government's willingness to discuss issues related to religious freedom. During Niyazov's rule the topic was taboo.

In the days leading up to his US trip, Berdymukhamedov took action designed to soften Turkmenistan's totalitarian image. For example, in video remarks aired at a recent technology conference in Ashgabat, Berdymukhamedov expressed a desire to bring Internet access "to every home." In 2005, the media watchdog organization Reporters sans Frontiers labelled Turkmenistan one of 15 "enemies of the Internet."

Feigenbaum also sought to dispel Turkmenistan's image as a "Central Asian North Korea." The deputy secretary emphasized that the United States currently conducts "real programs" in Turkmenistan that make a tangible and enduring contribution to people's lives. As examples, Feigenbaum cited the activities of the Peace Corps, the Future Leaders Exchange program for high school students, and the Counterpart International program that promotes "participatory decision-making" at the community level.

Although Berdymukhamedov has spoken frequently about the need for reforms, the rhetoric to date has not been matched by action. Some core features of authoritarianism remain in place, including expansive restrictions on civil liberties and the cult of personality surrounding the president. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The Bush administration is "realistic" about both the prospects for change and the limits of Turkmenistan's transformation since December, Feigenbaum insisted. "We see some exciting possibilities for change. But we also are realistic about those possibilities."