Turkmenistan is concerned about the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry on the possible expansion of the gas union

Deputy Chairman of the state concern “Turkmengaz” Myrad Archaev said that Turkmenistan is seriously concerned about the statement of the director of the department of economic cooperation of the Russian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Birichevsky, who allowed the expansion of the “triple gas union” of the Russian Federation with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

“Turkmenistan is seriously concerned about the statements of official representatives that in one way or another affect the international obligations of our country and can sow ambiguity and speculation about their implementation by other participants,” Mr. Araev said. His comment was posted on site Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

On August 11, Mr. Birichevsky said that “other states” are interested in joining the gas union and that the members of the union are open to mutually beneficial cooperation.

The deputy chairman of Turkmengaz, commenting on the statement of the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, asks questions about what expansion opportunities are in question, which states are showing interest in the union and what is behind the trilateral interaction of Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan.

“The streamlined language used by the Russian diplomat does not provide answers to them. And complete clarity is required here, since the interests of other states, including Turkmenistan, are affected,” Mr. Araev emphasized.

The Deputy Chairman recalled that Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia have been cooperating for a long time to transport gas from Central Asia to China. He clarified that three branches of the gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to China are currently operating. The largest supplier through these pipelines is Turkmenistan (40 billion cubic meters), another 15 billion cubic meters are supplied by Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Mr. Araev stressed that gas supplies from other countries through this pipeline are not provided and Turkmenistan has no plans to expand the number of participants in the project. He stated that any changes in the volume of gas supplies through the Turkmenistan-China gas pipelines require prior approval.

In November 2022 Russia spoke about plans to create a “tripartite gas union” with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In January 2023, the authorities of Kazakhstan saidthat did not receive proposals for a gas union, but are negotiating with the Russian Federation on cooperation in the field of gas. Kazakhstan is negotiating on gas transit from Russia to Uzbekistan.

Erdni Kagaltynov