Turkmen President Says Iran Ties 'Advantageous' For Region

Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov (file photo) (Bymedia.net)

July 24, 2006 -- Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov today met with his visiting Iranian counterpart, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, in Ashgabat.

Niyazov said after the talks that relations between Iran and Turkmenistan are "advantageous" to Central Asia's security.

Iran's official news agency, IRNA, reports that the two leaders will meet again on July 25, before Ahmadinejad departs for Tajikistan.

This is Ahmadinejad's first official visit to Turkmenistan. The Iranian president is accompanied by several cabinet ministers.

The two sides were expected to discuss Turkmen gas exports to Iran and efforts to define the final status of the Caspian Sea.

The five states sharing the shores of the Caspian Sea have failed to agree on their respective maritime boundaries -- and the accompanying exploitation of resources -- since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia have reached an accord, but Iran and Turkmenistan have not signed on to it.

(IRNA, AFP)