MOSCOW, May 25. The parameters of the gas union project of the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are being worked out, the volume of capital investments is being specified, said in an interview with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin.
«Currently, the parameters of a possible project are being worked out at the expert level. It is necessary to clarify the real needs of partners, the volume of forthcoming investments,» the diplomat said.
“I am sure that stable and long-term supplies of “blue fuel” will contribute to energy security and sustainable development of the entire Central Asian region. We see good prospects for building up trilateral cooperation in the gas sector,” Galuzin emphasized.
At a meeting in the Kremlin at the end of November 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev discussed the creation of a «triple gas union» with the participation of Uzbekistan to coordinate actions for transporting Russian gas through the territory of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The idea of a «tripartite alliance» at the first stage provides for the possibility of creating a coordination mechanism, possibly with a certain legal entity, but such issues still need to be discussed, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, explained to journalists.
Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have great potential for cooperation in the gas sector, including gas supplies and its processing, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak noted. And on January 18, Gazprom announced the signing of a roadmap for cooperation in the gas industry with Kazakhstan. At the same time, Uzbek Energy Minister Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov said in December that Uzbekistan intends to import gas and electricity from neighboring countries on the basis of commercial contracts, and not through some kind of alliance or union.
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