Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, May 22 / Trend H. Hasanov /
The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine Oleg Proskuryakov, who is on a working visit to Ashgabat, discusses cooperation issues, including the resumption of gas supplies to Ukraine, the press service of the Ukrainian Ministry reported on Wednesday.
The meeting was held with the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkmenistan Baimurad Khojamuhammadov and chairman of the Turkmengeology state corporation Torah Yagshymuradov.
Other issues discussed included the participation of Ukrainian companies in the mineral exploration in the territory of Turkmenistan. The parties have confirmed the mutual interest and readiness for constructive cooperation.
Proskuryakov also spoke at the Gas Congress of Turkmenistan, in particular noting that "Ukraine has the potential for cooperation in the oil and gas and energy sectors: transit, science and technology, oil and gas industries."
According to him, Ukraine is interested in establishing cooperation with energy companies in Turkmenistan, in particular in the implementation of joint projects in the fuel and energy complex.
In late April, the government of Ukraine stated it does not expect a resumption of direct supply of natural gas from Turkmenistan in 2013.
"Since the beginning of 2006, Turkmen gas has not been supplied to Ukraine under direct contracts. The government does not expect such supplies to resume in 2013," according to the Eurobond prospectus.
Shortly before that, a telephone conversation took place between the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and his Turkmen counterpart Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on the initiative of official Kiev, when the latter received an invitation to visit Ukraine at any convenient time.
During his state visit to Turkmenistan in February, Yanukovych said the two countries are well placed to join efforts in order to study alternative routes of gas supplies both for their own needs and for export to Europe. a memorandum of understanding was signed in Ashgabat between the National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine and the state concern Turkmengas.
As the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine Eduard Stavitskiy told reporters, it is about the expansion of cooperation, including the resumption of gas supplies to Ukraine and Europe. The route was clarified as well - via the pipeline, "which goes through the northern part of Turkmenistan and Russia".
Ukraine urges its opponents in Russia's Gazprom that the agreement on the CIS free trade zone has a clause that provides for equal access to transmission capacity of the CIS countries.
Official representatives of Kiev also have recently noted that they consider important participation of the Ukrainian side in the construction on the Turkmen territory of the East-West pipeline and the second line of the Malai-Bagtyyarlyk gas pipeline, forming part of the Turkmenistan-China pipeline. Furthermore, it was said about the possibility of participation in
implementation of the transnational gas pipeline project TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India).