MARCH 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Iranian media confirmed that Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, would make a two-day visit to Ashgabat from March 10. Last week Iranian media had said Mr Rouhani would visit Turkmenistan, although it did not say when or for how long. Turkmenistan-Iran relations are important for the region.
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(News report from Issue No. 221, published on March 4 2015)
FEB. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Iranian president Hassan Rouhani will fly to Ashgabat to meet with Turkmen president Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, media reported quoting a senior Iranian official as saying. Reports didn’t give a precise date for the visit, although it is expected at the end of February or in March.
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(News report from Issue No. 220, published on Feb. 25 2015)
FEB. 18 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan intends to increase production of gas in 2015 to around 80b cubic metres compared to 76b cubic metres in 2014, media reported quoting its energy ministry.
This is important because it underlines Turkmenistan’s determination to sell more gas to make up for the drop in prices.
Over the last few years Turkmenistan has built up its client base for gas and shifted itself into position as one of the region’s major gas suppliers.
Its main client is China but Europe, India and Pakistan are also clamouring to receive more gas.
News that Turkmen President Kurbangkuly Berdymukhamdov wants to increase gas production this year will be a boost for the proposed TAPI pipeline that is planned to run from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to Pakistan and India and also for a potential pipeline to run under the Caspian Sea that will feed gas to Europe.
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(News report from Issue No. 220, published on Feb. 25 2015)
MARCH 18 2015 (The Bulletin) – Turkmenistan has offered to host talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government, Pakistan’s Express Tribune newspaper reported. Sapar Berdiniyazov, a senior Turkmen diplomat, said: “If the Afghan parties ask us, Turkmenistan is available as a venue for the talks.” If Ashagbat did ever host peace talks it would significantly raise its international profile.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
>>Criticism comes after Russia cuts Turkmen gas imports>>
FEB. 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan has criticised Russia as an unreliable gas partner, hinting that it was moving away from its traditional energy alliance with Moscow and was instead looking for new clients and markets.
Ties between Turkmenistan and Russia have been increasingly strained and, perhaps, the Kremlin’s shadow boxing with the West in eastern Ukraine persuaded it to issue the harshly worded statement and speed up its search for new clients.
“Gazprom and its affiliates periodically violate agreements at interstate, intergovernmental and interdepartmental level, leading to the view that unfortunately the major energy company is an unstable partner,” the AFP news agency reported quoting an article on the website of Turkmenistan’s oil and gas ministry.
Earlier this year, Gazprom said that it was cutting imports of gas from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan by up to two-thirds.
Like other countries in the region, Turkmenistan has been trying to deal with the fallout from the decline in the value of the rouble and also the fall in energy prices. President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has ordered his energy executives to search for more clients.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
FEB. 11 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The countries developing the planned 1,800km pipeline to run from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India failed to announce a company to lead its construction as had been expected at a meeting in Islamabad. Media had said that France’s Total would be announced as the TAPI consortium leader.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
FEB. 17 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmenistan’s President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has pardoned 10 Iranian prisoners, Iran’s media reported. This is significant as the state-controlled Tehran Times described the release as part of a move by Turkmenistan to improve ties.
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(News report from Issue No. 219, published on Feb. 18 2015)
FEB. 8 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Perhaps feeling the pinch from falling energy prices, Turkmen leader Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov wants Turkmenistan to increase the number of foreign clients it has for its gas, the official website turkmenistan.ru reported. Mr Berdmukhamedov has already increased Turkmenistan’s client case since taking over.
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(News report from Issue No. 218, published on Feb. 11 2015)
>>Website says officers have been sent to training camps>>
FEB. 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Increasingly worried by the threat from the Taliban over the border in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan is calling up more and more of its young men for military training.
The chrono-tm.org website reported that officers who form part of the reverse army have been sent on three month long training camps.
This is important because it is more incremental evidence from Turkmenistan, notoriously closed to outsiders, that it is worried about the Taliban. Last year Turkmen President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov ordered his army to build defence positions inside Afghanistan after a series of attacks on Turkmenistan’s border posts killed several soldiers.
Since then, he has also tried to coordinate a joint strategy to defend Central Asia’s border with Uzbek president Islam Karimov. This sort of bilateral military alliance is virtually unheard of in Central Asia’s fractious neighbourhood.
“These actions on the urgent increase in size and readiness of the Turkmen army demonstrate serious concern the authorities hold on the potential threat from neighbouring Afghanistan and the tension on the Turkmen-Afghan border,” the website reported.
The problem for Central Asian governments is that NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has created a security void. They have said that they worry the Taliban will look to expand into Central Asia.
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(News report from Issue No. 218, published on Feb. 11 2015)
FEB. 10 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Turkmen officials are due to meet in Islamabad with counterparts from Pakistan, India and Afghanistan to decide on the contractor to build the TAPI pipeline, media reported. Sources said the leading candidate to build the pipeline to pump Turkmen gas to Asia is Total.
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(News report from Issue No. 218, published on Feb. 11 2015)