Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Robert O. Blake, Jr. appears to have little to show for his delegation's visit to Ashgabat this past week -- at least so far. The trip was described as a "mid-term review" of the "annual bilateral consultations" (ABC) that address America's avowed strategic goals of energy, security, and human rights.
At a press conference in Ashgabat February 16, Blake said he first met with Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov and expressed support for Turkmenistan's initiative to build the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline. Asked by reporters if the U.S. planned to get involved in constructing TAPI, Blake said the discussions were still "at a very early stage" and avoided further specifics. He then dodged a direct question about from a reporter about whether U.S. troops would be involved in guarding the TAPI pipeline, and said security was "one of the several issues that remain to be discussed" and that the U.S. is "committed to doing what we can to encourage this project and to facilitate discussions with our own companies and perhaps others to help this project to come to fruition".
Regarding the long-stalled Nabucco project to circumvent Russian-dominated energy corridors to Europe, Blake said, "The United States would very much welcome a decision by Turkmenistan to provide gas to the Nabucco project.
After his meeting with President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, Blake was quoted by Russian news service regnum.ru as saying that he "welcomed President Berdymukhamedov's decision to supply gas to Nabucco".
Meanwhile, the communique from the State News Agency of Turkmenistan
published on the official government website contained no mention of Nabucco whatsoever. There, Blake is quoted only as supporting Turkmenistan's leadership on TAPI.
A working group of the TAPI parties is currently meeting in Ashgabat; neither India nor Pakistan has accepted Turkmenistan's suggestion for a pricing structure and it is still being negotiated.
On February 25, Turkmenistan will convene a conference on the environmental issues surrounding TAPI. Yet apparently only government delegations will be involved and it is not clear how any non-governmental organizations could submit concerns, which range from adverse ecological impact to lack of financial transparency.
Reporters also asked Blake if he had raised human rights issues in his meetings with the Turkmen leadership, and he mentioned only the difficulties that Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe reporters face in Turkmenistan without elaborating what improvements might be expected.
February 19 was Turkmenistan Flag Day, and provided the usual opportunity to announce an amnesty of prisoners. As far as is known, however, no political prisoners were among the 2,000 pardoned, and the fate of one prisoner of conscience, Pastor Ilmurad Nurliev, a case raised by human rights groups on the eve of Blake's trip, was not known.
A group of American executives from the U.S.-Turkmenistan Business Council. accompanied Blake and also met with the Turkmen president. There was no word yet on whether drilling permits would be made available for Chevron, ConocoPhilips or other companies or what other joint projects may be in the works.
Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.