Uzbekistan is ready to sign commercial gas contracts with Russia, but does not intend to join a gas union, the country’s authorities say, RBK reports.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan Zhorabek Mirzamakhmudov said that «even if a gas agreement is concluded with Russia, this does not mean a union.»
According to him, Moscow and Tashkent are negotiating over the supply of Russian gas through neighboring Kazakhstan, but «it will be a technical contract,» Reuters reports.
«To meet the demand, ensure domestic consumption and solve the problem, we are negotiating on the import of gas and electricity from neighboring countries, and not through some kind of alliance or union. We are negotiating based on national interests in order to cooperate on the basis of a commercial contract, sale and purchase, and not through transfer of our supply networks,» Gazeta.uz cited Zhorabek Mirzamakhmudov as saying.
The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, for the first time announced the initiative to create a «tripartite gas union» between the states at a meeting with the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on November 28. Then he noted that the initiative came from the Russian leader.
«Vladimir Vladimirovich said that we need to create a kind of tripartite union. He is going to call the leader of Uzbekistan on this subject. We also need to delve into this topic,» Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
As Reuters notes, amid a cold winter, Uzbekistan is experiencing a shortage of fuel and has even been forced to stop exporting 6 million cubic meters of gas per day to China. At a meeting in the presidential administration, dedicated to solving problems in the field of providing the population and the economy with energy resources, it was decided to intensify negotiations with other countries on additional purchases of gas, electricity, coal and fuel oil, the National News Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan reports. The republic introduces a ban on the export of liquefied gas for all manufacturers and traders, and government agencies are prohibited from using cars that run on liquefied gas until March 1, 2023.
