Tajik FM leaves for visit to Turkmenistan

DUSHANBE, August 2 (Itar-Tass) -- Tajik Foreign Minister Khamrakhon
Zarifi has flown to Ashgabat for an undeclared visit on Tuesday.
As head of the information department of the Foreign Ministry said,
the foreign minister "on the instruction of Tajik President Emomali
Rakhmon will discuss with Turkmenian President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov,
other officials of the republic a range of primary issues of bilateral
relations."
According to the information of the ministry's spokesman, "prospects
for bilateral cooperation in the sphere of economy and regional security
will be discussed at talks." However, as independent Tajik experts
believe, "the main aim of the diplomatic mission of Zarifi in Ashgabat is
to try to achieve an increase of supplies of oil products to Tajikistan
experiencing their sharp shortage in full swing of harvesting works.
At present, the Tajik market of oil products depends on import
supplies from Russia which has already increased export duties on them
several times this year, which, in its turn, has caused a price leap in
the internal food market, whipping up a growth of inflation.
As Tajik Foreign Minister Khamrakhon Zarifi told a press conference
earlier, "the talks on the abolition of export duties are constantly going
on, however, their outcome depends on many factors both in Russia and the
republic, therefore, unfortunately, there are no progress so far." That's
why the Tajik authorities, trying to avoid full dependence on the Russian
monopolist in the country's fuel market, are looking for alternative ways,
first of all in Turkmenistan.