In December 2004, experts had several rounds of negotiations on the supply of Turkmen natural gas in 2005 to Russia and Ukraine, but they have not come to a common view on the price of supplied gas yet. Before the end of the current year the Turkmen side is prepared to hold talks to coordinate this issue, it was noted in the ministry, singling out the fact that "such a decision is not politically motivated". That it is due merely to the fact that no appropriate contracts have been concluded for 2005, it was stressed in the Turkmen Foreign Ministry.
Early in December, Turkmenistan asked for a new price for Turkmen natural gas for consumers in Russia and Ukraine. In 2005, it must be 60 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters, or 16 dollars more than in 2004.
In the view of the Turkmen authorities, "the existing price on Turkmen natural gas is much lower than the world's average, which has tended to grow steadily over all the past years." Besides, Turkmenistan is displeased with "a 5- to 10-fold rise in prices for commodities, including tubes and other metal products, chemicals and equipment supplied under clearing arrangements as the commodity part of the settlement for supplied Turkmen gas."
As was stressed in the republic's government, "the new price proposed by Turkmenistan is well below the world's average and is today the minimal."
