From: Justin Burke (JBurke@sorosny.org)
Date: Fri Feb 18 2000 - 13:32:00 EST
Reason has prevailed in Kyrgyz-Uzbek gas dispute, Kyrgyz paper says
Excerpts from report by the Kyrgyz newspaper 'Slovo Kyrgyzstana'
[Newspaper heading] A step has been taken. What is to be done next?
Disputes between neighbours are virtually inevitable, moreover, when the
talk begins about territories and facilities, and two states - Kyrgyzstan
and Uzbekistan - come out as opponents. Another matter is how reasonable
they are in order to reach agreement with minimum losses to each other.
So, in the dispute over the gas structures located on the territory of
Kyrgyzstan and used by Uzbek enterprises, reason seems to have prevailed. A
resolution adopted by our [Kyrgyz] republic's government on the transfer of
a number of facilities of the Uztransgaz [Uzbek gas transportation] SA
[State Association] and Uzneftegazsvyaz [Uzbek Oil and Gas Communications]
(?UPTS) to the balance sheet of the Kyrgyzgaz RPO [Republican Production
Association], which resulted from agreements reached earlier, testifies to
reason.
This problem, which smouldered away slowly for several years, came to a head
last December. It was then that because the natural gas to Kyrgyzstan was
being cut off constantly Kyrgyzstan found itself on the verge of freezing
completely. Uzbekistan demanded increasingly persistently that the debts
should be repaid, whilst Bishkek decided at the same time to sort out the
disputed territories and facilities located on them.
[passage omitted: about 10 Uzbek oil and gas enterprises operate in
Kyrgyzstan's Osh and Batken regions using the above structures; Uzbek
enterprises located on hundreds hectares of Kyrgyz land did not pay rent]
Moreover, every time a totally different amount of outstanding arrears was
mentioned but tens of millions of soms always figured. Tashkent preferred
to say nothing in this regard. But, it seems that talks made it possible to
get things moving and to begin the transfer of a number of main gas
pipelines and other gas facilities to our Kyrgyzgaz RPO.
If everything goes according to a plan, then our republic will finally
restore its lawful rights to the facilities located on its territory. But
it seems it should not stop at this. The major part of gas pipelines and
other facilities are not quite part of the economic structure of Batken
Region and, may uselessly stand idle, becoming morally obsolete.
Uzbekistan, to all appearances, is interested no less than we are in these
facilities operating and yielding profits. But will we be able to handle
the new property sensibly and economically, having leased it now lawfully
to our neighbours? [A. Lymar]
Source: 'Slovo Kyrgyzstana', Bishkek, in Russian 11 Feb 00
BBC Mon CAU 170200/** JF/KA
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