Prime Ministers Lured by Gas Scent
Prime ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) met in Ashgabat yesterday, November 22, 2007. Despite the record attendance, the PMs arrived at no material decisions that day.
It is Ukraine that presides in CIS this year. But it yielded the hosting status for the summit to Turkmenistan by request of the latter. Today’s president of that Asian state, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, spares no efforts to lead his country out of the self-isolation of the time of the former president.
When meeting prime ministers yesterday, Berdymukhammedov urged them not to confine to the oil and gas issues but mull over development of transport infrastructure in CIS. He also suggested calling 2008 the year of literature in CIS.
Regardless, the concern of the better part of cabinet chiefs in Ashgabat was whether Berdymukhammedov will hike the prices for gas deliveries via Russia in 2008. But the answer to this query could be expected only today, once Turkmen president meets with Russia’s Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller.
Nowadays, Gazprom buys 45 billion cu meters of Turkmen gas at $100 per a thousand cu meters and sells it to Ukraine via Rosukrenergo at $101 per a thousand cu meters and to Ukrgazenergo at $130 per a thousand cu meters. Under agreement with Gazprom, the price for Turkmen gas has been fixed for 2006 through 2008.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 23, 2007
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