US and Turkmenistan Discuss Caspian Gas and Trade Routes

US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia S. Paul Kapur met Turkmenistan’s paramount leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, on November 3, then held talks with Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov. Neither government released detailed accounts. The US Embassy described “positive momentum” in relations, pointing to commercial ties, energy cooperation and regional connectivity; Turkmenistan’s state news agency TDH called economic relations “fruitful” and said energy-route diversification was on the agenda.

Turkmen officials have recently signaled interest in sending substantial volumes of natural gas west and have sought US assistance and investment to improve extraction infrastructure. Washington, in turn, wants Ashgabat to join a proposed trans-Caspian pipeline, whose economic viability is widely seen as requiring Turkmen participation. Turkey’s envoy in Ashgabat, Şener Cebeci, said in late October that Turkey and Turkmenistan would restart energy trade and explore routes to carry Turkmen gas to Europe via Turkey. Turkmen officials have cautioned that Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan must first settle their shared Caspian seabed boundary.

The talks also covered the TAPI pipeline, planned to carry Turkmen gas through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India. Turkmen officials say the section from the Turkmen border to Herat, in western Afghanistan, is due to be completed by the end of 2026.

Ashgabat is also seeking a bigger role in the Middle Corridor, the emerging trans-Caspian trade network. Railways Minister Mammet Akmammedov said in an early October interview that Turkmenistan wants to become a multimodal transit hub. Turkmen Railways is seeking locomotives and improvements to rail infrastructure and customs digitization; US trade officials have discussed a possible purchase of Wabtec engines. Akmammedov also said the country was “strictly following” US sanctions on Iran and seeking to align transport procedures with the TIR system.

Azat Shahnazarov, head of the State Service for Maritime and River Transport, said Turkmenistan needed help expanding its Caspian fleet, including tankers and container ships. He called the falling sea level a “serious concern” and said Ashgabat planned to add dredging capacity to maintain current port traffic. The Foreign Ministry said it also wants more business contacts with US companies and greater educational and scientific exchanges, with relations gaining “concrete practical substance.”