Uzbekistan is requiring the full repayment of Tajikistan's $18 million debt before it will fully restore gas exports to the country.
Saidmamad Sharofiddinov, the director of the state-owned utility Tajiktransgaz, told RFE/RL's Tajik Service that Uzbekistan has been exporting only 50 percent of the gas Tajikistan needs this year because the debt is unpaid.
Tajiktransgaz has repaid $4 million, and company officials say that citizens owe $1 million and various companies owe the other $13 million.
An earlier agreement between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan increased gas prices this year by $100 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, meaning Tajikistan is now paying $240.