Turkmenistan, Russia don’t compete but act together supplying gas to China - diplomat

Russia and Turkmenistan do not compete but act together in the field of gas supplies to China.

"The Russian-Turkmen strategic partnership is manifested not only in words, but also in deeds. In the context of the question asked, I can say with confidence that our countries are by no means competitors in the field of gas supplies to China, but, on the contrary, work together, filling the dynamically developing Chinese market with gas," Russian Ambassador to Ashgabat Ivan Volynkin said in an interview with TASS.

"Our country supplies gas mainly to the northern and northeastern regions of China, while Turkmenistan supplies gas to the western provinces," he added.

In June, Reuters reported that China plans to speed up the construction of a gas pipeline in Central Asia to supply gas from Turkmenistan. The agency also claimed that the project of the Russian gas pipeline Power of Siberia - 2 could be "slowed down."

Russia and Turkmenistan also cooperate in the gas sector. As former Russian ambassador to Ashgabat Alexander Blokhin told TASS earlier, Gazprom bought about 5 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan last year. In 2021, the Russian company purchased 10 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan. The agreement between Gazprom and the Turkmen side is valid until 2024.