Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov on Tuesday confirmed the Central Asian republic's readiness to supply the required gas volumes to Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"There will always be enough Turkmen gas for Russia. This is what the [Turkmen] president told me," Lavrov said upon his return from a two-day visit to the ex-Soviet republic.
Lavrov said the required volumes or gas supply increases were issues for the two countries' respective energy companies.
Problems with Turkmen gas deliveries to Russia began in April 2009 when an explosion and ensuing fire forced Turkmengaz, the country's state-run gas company, to suspend supplies to Russia.
Turkmenistan then accused Russia of failing to give warning that it was reducing gas imports, resulting in a buildup of pipeline pressure that caused the blast. Gazprom reduced gas imports after a drop in demand from European consumers amid the global economic crisis.
Russia and Turkmenistan agreed in December 2009 that the Central Asian state would resume natural gas supplies to Russia from January 2010 to deliver up to 30 billion cubic meters annually at European-level prices. Before the April 2009 pipeline explosion, Gazprom imported 50 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas.
MOSCOW, March 16 (RIA Novosti)
