Tajikistan, Uzbekistan Fail to Agree on Gas Supplies

Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have failed to reach any decision on Uzbek natural gas supplies for 2013 as Tashkent has not replied to official proposals from Dushanbe, Saidakhmad Sharofiddinov, director of Tajik firm Tochiktransgas told a news conference this week, Times of Central Asia (TCA) reported.

Government of Uzbekistan has not responded to Tajikistan’s proposal and “if the issue is not resolved by this winter, Tajikistan will remain without gas this year,” Sharofiddinov said.

Sharofiddinov said Tajikistan has to develop its own gas fields to put an end to its dependence on Uzbek gas supplies, TCA reported.

Uzbekistan stopped gas supplies to Tajikistan on 31 December 2012, referring to the expiration of the supply contract. In 2012, Tajikistan imported 125 million cubic meters of Uzbek gas of the planned 145 million.