Geopolemics.com :: Turkmenistan

Countries: Turkmenistan
Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 02:02 PM
	Tit for tat The Turkmens have had a raw deal of late. They used to be the people dishing out the dirt to others - so there is something of poetic justice here. The Turkmens saw the foundation of the Seljuk dynasty no less, that eventually took over the Turkish ecumene, based in Istanbul. Their original capital was Merv in Southern Turkmenistan. Originally the largely nomadic Turkmen tribes did not form a national state and overlordship was divided between the Persian (Iranian) Empire, the Khivan Khanate and the Bukharan Emirate. Over the centuries the Turkmen developed a formidable reputation as caravan raiders and brigands, who were notorious for abducting Persians and, later, Russians, and selling them into slavery in the markets of Khiva and Bukhara. The region comprising modern Turkmenistan was the last Central Asian territory to be brought under the control of Tsarist Russia in 1881. The Russians have been on top ever since, whether in the guise of Tsarists, Bolsheviks or since 1991 whatever they pass themselves off as now. Russia the big one Russia and Turkmenistan could complete talks on a new price for next year's imports of Turkmen gas by July, the deputy chairman of the board of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom said on June 6. "We are ready to complete (the talks) if Turkmenistan is ready -- this goal is easily obtainable," Alexander Medvedev said as quoted by the Interfax news agency. The current price paid by Russia is 130 dollars per 1,000 cubic metres in the first half of 2008 and 150 dollars in the second half of the year. Gazprom agreed to the steep hike in gas prices last year, but said that from 2009 Russia would buy gas from Turkmenistan at a rate determined by "market principles." While Russia holds the world's largest gas reserves, lack of development of those reserves means it has to supplement its supplies with imports from the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan. European Union customers in turn rely on Russia for about a quarter of their gas supplies. New conference on oil and gas in Baku The Turkmen now seem keen to diversify from an overwhelming dependence on Russia as the route for their oil and gas. The obvious alternative is Azerbaijan across the Caspian, but it is not alone as an option. Baku has invited a Turkmen delegation for a forthcoming conference on the two countries oil and gas prospects, which are of course formidable in both cases. The date is yet to be decided. It will be a major event in the world energy industry’s calendar. Note: To read more, click here

Comments
Only logged in users are allowed to comment. register/log in