Kyrgyzstan's parliament on January 20 voted to terminate deals with Russia on the construction and operation of two power plants in the the country -- the Upper Naryn Hydropower Plant Cascade and the Kambar-Ata-1 Hydropower Plant.
Deputy Economy Minister Nurlan Sadykov lawmakers after the vote that Bishkek will return $37 million that already invested by Russian state firms in the projects as soon as a new investor is found.
Sadykov said the deals were terminated due "the lack of financing from Russia."
Last month, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev said the decline of Russia's economic power as a result of falling oil prices and Western economic sanctions had prompted Kyrgyzstan to seek new partners for the projects, which are worth an estimated $3.2 billion.
