Turkmen Leader off to European Gas Talks
Turkmen Leader off to European Gas Talks
President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov is attending a meeting on possible new gas pipelines to Europe on May 7 and 8.
The talks, which will focus on the Nabucco pipeline project, are part of a meeting involving leaders from six former Soviet states which is being hosted in Prague by the European Union. Dubbed “Eastern Partnership”, the summit will seek to create greater EU collaboration with eastern neighbours Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus and the Caucasian states Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The Nabucco project would bring natural gas from the south Caucasus via Turkey to Europe, thus avoiding Russian territory. It would link up with another planned pipeline running under the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan. Nabucco’s viability depends on a supply of Turkmen as well as Azerbaijani gas.
Moscow currently buys most of Turkmenistan’s gas – the country exports around three quarters of the 80 billion cubic metres it produces annually – and is reluctant to relax the hold which its monopoly control of the major export pipelines gives it.
Turkmenistan’s leaders, however, remain open to other offers, as Berdimuhammedov’s trip to Prague demonstrates.
When Russia’s Gazprom recently reduced the flow of Turkmen gas, it blamed an explosion in the pipeline. However, the cut followed a fall in gas prices and the Turkmen foreign ministry accused the Kremlin of deliberately slowing the Central Asian state’s gas exports.
Analysts say current conditions are conducive to energy talks between Turkmenistan and western states, cutting out the Russian middleman.
“Turkmenistan is positioning itself as a reliable partner for the EU, and is prepared to move against its long-term gas trading partner [Russia] and to voice disagreement with Russian policies,” said Annadurdy Khajiev, a Turkmen economic analyst based in Bulgaria.
The talks, which will focus on the Nabucco pipeline project, are part of a meeting involving leaders from six former Soviet states which is being hosted in Prague by the European Union. Dubbed “Eastern Partnership”, the summit will seek to create greater EU collaboration with eastern neighbours Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus and the Caucasian states Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The Nabucco project would bring natural gas from the south Caucasus via Turkey to Europe, thus avoiding Russian territory. It would link up with another planned pipeline running under the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan. Nabucco’s viability depends on a supply of Turkmen as well as Azerbaijani gas.
Moscow currently buys most of Turkmenistan’s gas – the country exports around three quarters of the 80 billion cubic metres it produces annually – and is reluctant to relax the hold which its monopoly control of the major export pipelines gives it.
Turkmenistan’s leaders, however, remain open to other offers, as Berdimuhammedov’s trip to Prague demonstrates.
When Russia’s Gazprom recently reduced the flow of Turkmen gas, it blamed an explosion in the pipeline. However, the cut followed a fall in gas prices and the Turkmen foreign ministry accused the Kremlin of deliberately slowing the Central Asian state’s gas exports.
Analysts say current conditions are conducive to energy talks between Turkmenistan and western states, cutting out the Russian middleman.
“Turkmenistan is positioning itself as a reliable partner for the EU, and is prepared to move against its long-term gas trading partner [Russia] and to voice disagreement with Russian policies,” said Annadurdy Khajiev, a Turkmen economic analyst based in Bulgaria.
