OREANDA-NEWS  Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan Zhorabek Mirzamakhmudov said that "even if a gas agreement is concluded with Russia, it does not mean a union." According to him, Moscow and Tashkent are negotiating the supply of Russian gas through neighboring Kazakhstan, but "it will be a technical contract," Reuters reports.

"To cover the demand, ensure domestic consumption and solve the problem, today we are negotiating to import gas and electricity from neighboring countries, and not through some alliance or union. Here we are negotiating based on national interests in order to cooperate on the basis of a commercial contract, purchase and sale, and not through the transfer of our energy networks," Mirzamakhmudov said (quoted byГазете.uz ).

For the first time, the initiative to create a "triple gas union" between the countries was announced by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on November 28. Then he noted that the initiative came from the Russian leader. "Today, Vladimir Vladimirovich said that we need to create a kind of trilateral union. He is going to call the President of Uzbekistan on this topic. We also need to delve into this topic," Tokayev said.