Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal for a "triple gas alliance" with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan does not constitute the supply of gas in return for some political demands, it is about the coordination of commercial interests. This was stated by Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, RBC reported.
“No one talks about gas in exchange for political conditions. This is out of the question in the context of the idea of creating this union. We are talking, of course, about the commercial side, about coordinating actions in the commercial interests of the countries,” he said.
“Each party, of course, shall sell and continue to sell its energy resources to its counterparties, focusing solely on commercial terms. But apart from everything else, as President Putin explained, the countries are interested in coordinating their actions on the further laying of gas transportation routes, on determining the future path and direction for the development of gas infrastructure, and on meeting their domestic needs for natural gas,” Peskov said.
“Countries are interested in coordinating all this, increasing both profitability and benefits for each other. Nobody talks about gas in exchange for political demands. There is no talk of this at all,” he repeated.
The day before, Deputy PM/Minister of Energy Zhurabek Mirzamakhmudov said that the country was negotiating with other countries on the import of gas and electricity on the basis of a commercial contract, sale and purchase, not through some kind of alliance or union, based on national interests, “and not through transmission of their energy networks.
At the end of November, it became known that Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed the creation of a "trilateral gas union" of Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
