(File photo from a previous visit to Moscow)

In the course of a meeting in Moscow on Monday, President Saparmurat Niyazov and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed plans for increased energy cooperation, according to a RIA Novosti report. There was also a working party between Niyazov and Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov, during which the possibility of developing alternative gas supply routes was discussed. The encounter was also attended by Naftogaz Ukrainy CEO Oleksiy Ivchenko and a number of Ukrainian Foreign Ministry officials. In a separate meeting, Niyazov met LUKoil CEO Vagit Alekperov, with whom he discussed potential for developing operations in the Caspian Sea. According to a RIA Novosti report:

LUKoil boss Vagit Alekperov gave Saparmurat Niyazov details of investment projects on the exploration and development of Turkmenistan’s Caspian sector that could be implemented with the republic’s oil and gas industry.
“Our plans envision very serious investment, and their implementation will allow us to contribute to strengthening the Russian-Turkmen strategic partnership,” Alekperov said.
LUKoil is one of the world’s biggest vertically integrated oil and gas companies, producing more than 1.8 million bbl/d of crude.