Zee Beam News

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov.) -- Turkmenian President Saparmurat Niyazov is getting ready for a working visit to Moscow next Sunday and Monday. The visit is not likely to produce any major documents. High-ranking sources report that the subject of discussions will be issues related to the fuel-and-energy complex. The prelude to the visit was as follows: on January 5th Vladimir Putin telephoned Saparmurat Niyazov, and the two presidents discussed bilateral relations, but gave priority to fuel and energy. The conversation was followed by a statement that President Niyazov will visit Moscow on January 22-23 at the invitation of Vladimir Putin. Cooperation in the oil and gas sector has become a priority for both countries. The April 2003 agreement on cooperation in the gas sphere provides for increasing supplies of Turkmenian gas to Russia: from 3-4 billion cubic meters in 2004 and 2005, to 80-90 billion cubic meters a year starting in 2007. These are impressive figures. The agreement also stipulates the construction of new capacities for the transportation of gas from Turkmenia to Russia, Ukraine, and other countries. In particular, it envisages a number of bilateral projects for the deliveries of Turkmenian gas to European consumers. Geographically, Russia lies to the West of the Turkmen gas route, that is, on its way to Europe Turkmenian gas will inevitably have to cross Russian territory, which means the two countries can develop a productive partnership. The agreement also provides for the joint development of oil and gas deposits on Turkmen territory. During the recent visits of the Gazprom CEO to Ashkhabad, the Turkmen side suggested Gazprom's participation in the exploration and development of the Turkmen part of the Caspian shelf, and the right bank of the Amu-Darya River, where large deposits of hydrocarbons have been recently discovered. Niyazov has repeatedly stressed Turkmenistan's readiness for close cooperation with Russia in the gas sphere. He has pointed out that contracts on gas deliveries to Europe, and Ukraine in particular, are impossible without Russia's participation. In turn, Russia is interested in Central and South-Asian directions. It could take part, for instance, in the Turkmenia-Afghanistan-Pakistan gas pipeline project, especially considering the experience accumulated by its experts in Afghanistan. However, gas is not the only subject, which the Russian and Turkmen leaders could discuss. Turkmenistan occupies a special place among former Soviet republics, and bilateral relations are not entirely cloudless. One of the main problems is the issue of dual Russian-Turkmen citizenship, which has been misinterpreted more than once. The flow of mutual grievances has considerably diminished recently but the problem is still there. Moscow wants Ashkhabad to grant dual citizenship to all those who ask for it, but Turkmenistan opposes this measure. There is also the problem of Afghan drugs. The Turkmen section of the border with Afghanistan is over 800 km, but the country prefers to fight drug trafficking on its own. It does not want to take part in anti-drug security belts, nor in anti-drug operations conducted by the forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization together with the Russian and Tajik anti-drug agencies. There are other difficulties, such as the status of the Caspian Sea. Its discussion was postponed at Niyazov's initiative. But all these issues have receded into the background, as the problems of gas and gas pipelines have moved to the fore.