Turkmen President: Kurbanguly
Turkmenistan to talk gas with Russia
Russia and Turkmenistan will hold another round of talks soon aimed at restarting supplies of Turkmen gas to Russia, Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov said.
Supplies stopped in April after a pipeline explosion but the link has been repaired, he said at a government meeting shown on state television late yesterday.
Before April, Russia used to be the main buyer of gas from the Central Asian state, importing about 50 billion cubic metres a year. After the explosion, Moscow sought to revise terms seeking a lower price.
"The completion of repair works in the gas pipeline network along with the negotiations held between the representatives of Turkmenistan and Russia have allowed us to resolve some technical issues related to the functioning of Central Asia-Centre pipeline," Berdymukhamedov said.
He said Turkmenistan would continue to develop ties with Russia, its "historical and strategic partner".
"Talks will take place in the near future between state company Turkmengas and Russia's Gazprom on the issues of further energy cooperation," Berdymukhamedov said.
Analysts say Turkmenistan needs to agree with Russia soon to avoid pressure from export revenue shortages.
The former Soviet republic is boosting exports to Iran and will start pumping gas to China in December but further diversification, including joining the EU-sponsored Nabucco link bypassing Russia, will take years, reported Reuters.