Russian, Kazakh leaders discuss creation of ‘trilateral gas union’ involving Uzbekistan

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev discussed the creation of a “trilateral gas union” involving Uzbekistan for the transportation of Russian gas through Central Asian countries, a Kazakh official said on Tuesday.

“During negotiations in the Kremlin between the presidents of Kazakhstan and Russia, the creation of a ‘triple gas union’ consisting of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan was discussed in order to coordinate actions for the transportation of Russian gas through the territories of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,” Press Secretary of the Kazakh Presidency Ruslan Zheldibay wrote in a Facebook post.

Zheldibay said both the leaders believe in the necessity to “hold detailed negotiations, with the participation of experts from the three countries, to find a rational solution to this issue, taking into account the interests of all parties.”

Tokayev is on an official visit to Moscow, his first since being reelected as the president for a new seven-year term last week.

On Monday, both Putin and Tokayev addressed a forum on interregional cooperation held in the Russian city of Orenburg via video conference.

Putin said Moscow is reorienting its exports and imports to new markets, noting that Russia remains one of the largest investors in the Kazakh economy, with the volume of capital investments amounting to almost $17 billion.

Tokayev highlighted that Russia and Kazakhstan were able to build “mutually beneficial economic cooperation,” adding that the trade volume between the two countries reached "a new record high of $24.5 billion."​​​​​​​