Turkmen leader seeks to warm US relations
ASHGABAT (AFP) — The head of the energy-rich Central Asian state of Turkmenistan is to meet US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week as hopes mount for a fresh start in relations.
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov flew to the United States on Sunday and was to meet Rice during the week, as well as address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, officials said.
The mainly desert ex-Soviet state is regarded as a crucial piece in a wider power struggle as it holds roughly the 10th largest gas reserves in the world and borders both Afghanistan and US foe Iran.
Washington has long tried to get Turkmenistan's agreement to building a gas export pipeline from its Caspian seashore to the West, bypassing Iran and Russia.
The trip is Berdymukhamedov's first to the West country since taking over from his eccentric predecessor Saparmurat Niyazov, who died in December.
A US diplomat here said that the meeting with Rice would build on numerous visits by US officials to Turkmenistan since January and would address possible US investment in Turkmenistan.
An official in the Turkmen oil and gas agency said a Turkmen delegation had already gone to Washington and Houston for talks on energy with US companies and trade officials.
But Moscow, which controls most Turkmen gas exports via Soviet-built pipelines, is keen to limit US influence in the region.
President Vladimir Putin was expected to reassert this agenda at a meeting of Caspian leaders in Tehran on October 16.
Russia uses Turkmen gas to help keep up with growing European demand as investment in its own reserves has fallen short. Moscow buys about 40 billion square metres of gas per year from Turkmenistan.
However at a meeting with the Turkmen leader this month the president of oil-rich Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, lifted Western hopes by saying that he and Berdymukhamedov did "not exclude" using the Caspian Sea as a transport corridor.
While the United States has driven Western diplomacy with Turkmenistan, the European Union also wants to build energy ties with Central Asia. A Caspian gas pipeline is seen as a way to reduce EU dependence on Russia.
However analysts warn that caution is in order, saying that territorial disputes continue to plague the Caspian and that it may be many years before Turkmenistan's vast reserves become easily available.
Rivalry is also coming from another quarter: work has begun on a pipeline from Turkmenistan to China, after Ashgabat agreed in July to sell Beijing 30 billion cubic metres (1.1 trillion cubic feet) of gas annually.
The head of the Swedish-based Institute for Central Asian and Caucasian Studies, Murad Esenov, said that the Turkmen leader had "activated Turkmenistan's foreign policy."
"Having renewed ties with his neighbours, he is now taking his first steps toward the West," said Esenov.
