DUSHANBE, December 31, 2014, Asia-Plus – Kyrgyz media sources report that Uzbekistan has resumed natural gas supplies to southern Kyrgyzstan.
Uzbekistan suspended gas supplies to the neighboring country in April this year after expiration of the contract with Kyrgyzstan and an official sale of Kyrgyz state gas company, Kyrgyzgaz, to Russia”s state-controlled gas company Gazprom for a symbolic 1.00 USD. Gazprom reportedly promised to rehabilitate Kyrgyzstan’s gas-distributing infrastructure.
It was unclear what prompted Uzbekistan to resume gas exports to southern Kyrgyzstan.
Meanwhile, Russian media sources reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the issue of termination of natural gas shipments to southern Kyrgyzstan at talks with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov in Tashkent on December 10.
There was reportedly hope that Putin could get Karimov to resume gas supplies to southern Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan’s news agency 24.kg reported on December 11 that Uzbekistan has not granted the request of Putin to renew gas supplies to southern Kyrgyzstan. Islam Karimov reportedly noted that resumption of gas supplies requires further examination.
We will recall that Tajikistan had received natural gas from Uzbekistan until 2013. Uzbekistan, Tajikistan’s only supplier of natural gas, suspended gas deliveries via pipeline to Tajikistan on December 31, 2012 after both sides failed to agree on gas prices following the expiration of their contract.
