Ukraine intends to resume direct gas deliveries from Turkmenistan in 2015

Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, September 17 / Trend, H. Hasanov / Ukraine expects to resume direct deliveries of Turkmen gas from 2015, a Ukrainian media outlet reported citing a statement of Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov. "We are very interested in the free trade agreement between CIS countries working with full efficiency," the Prime Minister noted emphasizing the paragraph concerning the fuel-pipeline system. According to the report, this agreement was ratified by Ukraine and Russia; however, this must wait until 2015 due to delays by Russia. "According to the text, we can directly order gas and oil from Turkmenistan, " Azarov said, Ukrainian Media outlet reported. The Ukrainian government said in late April 2013 that Turkmen gas hasn't been delivered to the county on direct agreements since early 2006. Following the negotiations with his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, in February 2013, Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych noted that the two countries have opportunities to consolidate efforts to study alternative routes of gas supply that meet their own demands and for subsequent export to Europe. A memorandum of understanding between the National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine and Turkmengaz State Concern was signed in Ashgabat within this visit. Ukrainian Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Eduard Stavitskiy sais then that the question is to expand cooperation in the issue of resuming gas deliveries to Ukraine and European countries. At the same time, the route was also specified - through the pipeline "which runs through Turkmenistan's Northern part and Russia". Ukraine convinces its opponents at Russian Gasprom that there is a paragraph in the CIS free trade agreement, which envisages equal access to gas transportation facilities of CIS countries. Official representatives of Kiev recently noted the importance of Ukraine's participation in the construction of the East-West gas pipeline and the second line of Malay-Bagtyyarlyk pipeline which is a branch of Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline in Turkmenistan. In addition, the possibility for Ukrainian participation in the transnational TAPI gas pipeline (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) was also noted. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az