TURKMEN-IRANIAN PIPELINE DEAL.

Turkmenistan and Iran signed September 5 in the Turkmen capital Ashgabat an agreement to build a 140 kilometer gas trunk line to link their pipeline systems, IRNA reported. The trunk line will enable Turkmenistan, the world’s fourth largest gas producer, to export some of its gas via Iran. The latter is to receive 8 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas annually and to provide 80 percent of the project’s financing. Construction is scheduled to commence this month and to be completed within two years. The Iran route is critical for some of ex-Soviet Central Asia’s landlocked countries seeking physical access to international markets.

Uzbek Security Concerns.