Russian and Turkmen presidents to hold negotiations in Moscow

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov will meet in Moscow today and discuss cooperation in the economic sphere, primarily energy, RIA Novosti reports.

Berdimuhamedov was invited by the Russian president. Medvedev and Berdimuhamedov met at the CIS Council in Dushanbe on September 3. The Turkmen leader was unable to attend the informal CIS meeting in Moscow this week.

Russian-Turkmen bilateral trade in the first 10 months of 2011 (excluding gas supplies) totaled $990.3 million (an increase of 32.9%). Russian exports increased by 35.4% ($871.5 million), imports by 16.8% ($118.8 million).

Ashkhabad hosted the fifth session of the Russian-Turkmen intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation, chaired by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Victor Zubkov and Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov in November 2010. The session played an important role in coordination.
The meeting in Moscow is expected to touch upon improvement of efficiency of cooperation, taking into account the experience in Tatarstan, Saint-Petersburg and the Astrakhan Region.

Special attention will be paid to cooperation in fuel and energy. State leaders will discuss prospects for promotion of cooperation in electricity, transport and communications.

Traditionally, Russia is one of the main buyers of Turkmen gas. But Ashkhabad has recently been developing links with a whole set of states, against the background of Gazprom reducing gas purchases. Turkmenistan is interested in the Nabucco project, a competitor of Russia’s South Stream. It is also increasing gas sales to China.

Another topic for discussions is a Russian share in the Trans-Afghan Gas Pipeline TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India). The Russian Energy Ministry said earlier that Russia may join the project.

TAPI will be about 1,680 km long, with a capacity of 30 billion cubic meters annually. Gazprom plans to take part.
Negotiations will also include cooperation in the humanitarian sphere, especially education, staff training, culture and sports. Views will be exchanged on the situation in Central Asia and Afghanistan and on cooperation within the format of five Caspian states.
Turkmenistan will chair the CIS in 2012.