…MAKES DEAL WITH TURKMENISTAN.

At a meeting in Ashgabat, the Ukrainian, Turkmen, and Iranian foreign ministers agreed on a triangular deal for paying Ukraine’s current gas bill to Turkmenistan. Ukraine will deliver rails to Iran, which will deduct their value from the payments it stands to receive from Turkmenistan for building the Ashgabat-Gekdepe highway in that country. Iran itself will use the rails for building its Meshed-Serakhs railroad. (12) The arrangement marks an early step in implementing the trilateral clearing mechanism recently set up by these countries (for details see Monitor, September 11). The highway and railroad constitute segments of the planned international "North-South transport corridor" which will, when completed, open up access to the Persian Gulf for several ex-Soviet countries of Central Asia. Ukraine plans to substantially expand its trade with Central Asia and is interested in using that corridor.

Ukraine-NATO Cooperation Advances