DUSHANBE, December 18, Asia-Plus  -- Uztransgaz (Uzbek state-controlled natural-gas supplier) has officially notified Tojikgaz (Tajik natural-gas distributor) hat deadline for concluding an agreement on the prices of Tajik gas imports expires on December 24, Tojikgaz director general Fathiddin Muhsiddinov told Asia-Plus on Tuesday.

According to him, Uzbekistan’s demand to raise prices for Tajik gas imports from the current level of $100 to $180 per 1,000 cubic meters is unacceptable.  “It is too expensive for Tajikistan, and it cannot be ruled out that it may lead increase in domestic prices of natural gas for consumers in the country” Muhsiddinov said, adding that the final decision of the Tajik government will be known within the next few days.  

We will recall that several days of negotiations between officials from Tojikgaz and Uztransgaz in Tashkent over the gas prices broke down on December 11 as the two sides failed to reach an agreement on the prices for Tajik gas imports.  The just reached a consensus on the volume of the Tajik gas imports in 2008.  Tajikistan is planning to import 950 million cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan in 2008.  

The Tojikgaz top manager noted that Kyrgyzstan had also failed to reach an agreement on gas prices or 2008.    

Some experts hold that the issue of the Uzbek gas prices is supposed to be resolved after presidential election that will be held in Uzbekistan on December 23.