MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/. Russia’s idea of establishing a gas alliance with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan is neither a political and geopolitical game, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a televised interview with Kazakhstan’s Khabar-24 news channel on Saturday.
"Currently, the initiative to form a trilateral gas project between Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is being discussed. Analysts, especially in the West, immediately began to claim that it is a certain political and geopolitical game. There is no ‘game’ here. Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are neighbors with a unified gas transportation system. We have an interest that gas supply would not to be disrupted given the seasonal consumption peaks," Lavrov said.
Lavrov said that recently he had read a report about a sudden power shortage in Uzbekistan.
"It is a real example when we should employ our advantages to resolve practical issues for our citizens, without any politicization or ideology," the Russian top diplomat said.
On November 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke about the need to create ‘a trilateral gas alliance’ comprising Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that at the first stage, it implies creating a coordination mechanism on Putin’s initiative. Later it became known that it also implies cooperation on processing and supply of gas, in particular to new export destinations.