30-08-08 Russia and Turkmenistan have signed a deal to develop oil and gas fields and build new pipelines.
"The agreement between (the) Turkmen and Russian governments on trade and economic cooperation, as well as the accord on scientific, technical and innovation cooperation" was signed during talks on general economic cooperation, the report said. "Turkmenistan considers Russia its good friend and strategic partner, and intends to develop (a) constructive dialogue," Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov was quoted as saying during talks with Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov.

Russian gas giant Gazprom recently announced it had reached agreements with Turkmenistan on investing in its gas infrastructure. The company said it would build "major new pipelines" in the east of the country, develop new gas deposits and increase the capacity of the pipeline running along the Caspian Sea to 30 bn cm.
Moscow has recently faced increased competition for Turkmenistan's vast gas reserves from both Europe and China.