The March 26 parliamentary election in Ukraine will be contested by an unprecedented 45 parties and blocs, but this impressive number is misleading. Opinion polls show that over 30 of them have nothing to hope for, while four to six parties will be struggling to... MORE

Turkmenistan has taken two steps in quick succession that pose severe problems for Ukraine's gas supplies. Ashgabat will raise the gas price in line with international market trends, and is demanding prompt payment of Ukraine's arrears for past deliveries of Turkmen gas. Missteps by Ukrainian... MORE

Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov announced on September 1 that his country would downgrade its links with the Commonwealth of Independent States. Arguing on the basis of his avowed and UN-approved neutral status, Niyazov advanced the idea of a looser associate CIS membership, eschewing the participation... MORE

Turkmenistan has been keen to expand the export markets for its abundant natural gas resources. Not surprisingly, Turkmen authorities have been eyeing China's lucrative energy markets, although pipelines to funnel Turkmen gas to China are still at the planning stage. Last month, Turkmen President Saparmurat... MORE

On June 24 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov and Naftohaz Ukrainy chairman Oleksiy Ivchenko signed a contract radically changing the modalities of the gas trade between the two countries. It involves a staggering volume of Turkmen gas, at deeply discounted prices, to be paid... MORE

On April 15 in Ashgabat, Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller satisfied Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov's demand to switch to all-cash payments for Turkmen gas delivered to Russia. In return for this concession, Turkmenistan seems set to resume the deliveries, which it halted on January 1, 2005,... MORE

Russia has been courting Turkmenistan's authoritarian regime in an apparent attempt to secure its energy interests in the gas-rich Central Asian state. However, the pursuit has been dealt a number of setbacks recently. In the wake of regime change in Kyrgyzstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin... MORE

On March 23, Gazprom officially acknowledged for the first time that Turkmenistan had ceased gas deliveries to Russia on January 1. Gazprom Vice-Chairman Alexander Ryazanov confirmed to Moscow journalists that the company rejects Ashgabat's demand for a price increase, from $44 to $58 per 1,000... MORE

With almost no public notice, Turkmenistan has virtually ceased deliveries of gas to Russia since January 1 due to disagreement over the price (Vremya novosti, February 9). Gazprom did not acknowledge the problem publicly until yesterday (February 10). The company's chairman, Alexei Miller, held talks... MORE