Turkmenistan: Gazprom Close to Resolving Stand-Off with Ashgabat

Ongoing attempts to settle a spat between Gazprom and Turkmenistan may finally yield a breakthrough, says Alexei Miller, the energy conglomerate's chief.

"We will build future work with our Turkmen partners in a strategic way," Miller is quoted as saying during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on June 17.

On June 15, Miller held talks with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov in Ashgabat in an attempt to resolve issues arising from falling gas prices and an explosion on a key export pipeline earlier this year.

"We had a common understanding on all the issues that were brought up at the meeting, and we can say the meeting was very constructive and friendly in manner," Miller assured Putin. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].