ASSA-Irada,
17, January 2008

The first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation was held in Ashgabat on Thursday.

The commission is co-chaired by Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Yagub Eyyubov and his Turkmen counterpart Khidir Saparliyev.

The directions of economic cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the oil and gas sector will be discussed during the meeting. The dispute between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan over the former's debt for gas it imported will be in focus as well.

The two ex-Soviet states are facing a long-standing dispute over the considerable arrears that emerged after Azerbaijan failed to repay the value of gas it purchased from Turkmenistan in early 1990s.

Baku says that it owes $18 million to Turkmenistan, while the latter states that the real figure is $56 million together with interest.