Russian President Calls For Closer Ties With Turkmenistan

Putin, Berdymukhammedov, and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev are due to hold a summit in the coastal city of Turkmenbashi on May 12 focusing on plans to build a pipeline that would carry natural gas from Turkmenistan through Kazakhstan and Russia to Europe.

On May 10, the Russian and Kazakh presidents agreed that more Kazakh oil exports to Europe will be shipped through Russian territory.

As the leaders address energy issues in Turkmenistan, Polish President Lech Kaczynski is hosting a separate two-day energy summit that starts today in the Polish city of Krakow.

The presidents of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Kazakhstan have been invited to the meeting to discuss possibilities for transporting oil from the Central Asian region to West European pipelines without going through Russia. Kazakhstan's Nazarbaev opted out of the Polish summit to attend the talks in Ashgabat.

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org