Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was welcomed in Turkmenistan by the republic's President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.
"Dear Gurbanguly Myalikgulyevich,
Our president warmly recalls the talks with you. About a year ago he was paying a visit here. Many documents have been signed then, but the main thing is that they are being implemented. Strategic partnership opens up broader perspectives. We are interested in developing the existing reserve and potential to the full. We want the Intergovernmental Commission planned for the first quarter of this year to be substantive with specific decisions," the Russian top diplomat said.
There are positive developments between our countries in the energy sector. We support them. We are in favor of making the Eurasian Economic Union understandable for all our partners who are not part of this structure. There are plans to link the Central Asian electric power system, in which Turkmenistan plays a very important role, and the general electric power market, which is expected to formed in the Eurasian Economic Union by 2025. This is quite an interesting and large-scale project.
"Yesterday, we held useful talks with head of the Turkmen Foreign Ministry Rashid Meredov. We have outlined new plans," the Russian foreign minister stressed.
Then Sergey Lavrov and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov held talks during which, on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lavrov conveyed to the Turkmen leader the warmest greetings and wishes of success in his activities as head of Turkmenistan and confirmed that Russia is strictly guided by all agreements reached at the highest level including during the Russian President's visit to Turkmenistan, which took place a little over a year ago.
The Russian Foreign Minister said following the meeting with the Turkmen President that the oil and gas issues will be assigned to representatives of the intergovernmental commission on trade-economic cooperation. Its terms are being coordinated. "During the conversation, Turkmenistan’s president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov expressed satisfaction with the way the gas issue is being treated in our dialogue now, with a focus on a search for new far-reaching major agreements.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova earlier said that Lavrov will discuss international and regional issues concerning the interests of the Caspian countries with Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov in Turkmenistan. According to her, special attention will be paid to the topic of cooperation within the CIS, taking into account the priorities of Turkmenistan’s chairmanship in this organization in 2019.
