Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, 13 Feb. / Trend, H. Hasanov /
Ukraine is interested in the resumption of supply of Turkmen natural gas, President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych said after the talks with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov in Ashgabat.
"I have confirmed Ukraine's interest in the resumption of the supply of natural gas from Turkmenistan and our willingness to deepen cooperation in this field," the Ukrainian leader said at the briefing.
Yanukovych is in Turkmenistan on a three day state visit (February 12-14).
According to him, the two countries are in a position to join efforts in order to study alternative gas supply routes for meeting its own needs and exports to Europe.
Ukraine's primary interest in Turkmenistan is its natural gas reserves, which according to Kiev, may reach the Ukrainian market not through re-exports, but directly and on more favorable terms.
The CAC pipeline, which runs through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan became a monopoly under Russian Gazprom after the collapse of the USSR.
In recent years, Russia has preferred to re-export Turkmen gas, including while meeting the needs of Ukraine. In 2010, due to the global recession, Russia reduced purchases from Turkmenistan to 10 bcm, which is four times less than in the previous years.
Kiev urged its opponents in Moscow that the agreement on the CIS free trade zone contains a clause that provides for equal access to transmission facilities in the CIS countries.
Ashgabat, which supplies gas to China, Iran and Russia, is interested in new markets, including the early supply of its energy to Europe, including Ukraine.
Ashgabat has announced that the surplus of marketable gas may be acquired by any potential customer at the border, including the Turkmen-Uzbek border.