Ivan Volynkin, 65, has been appointed Russian Ambassador to Turkmenistan. The relevant presidential decree was posted on the official portal of legal information.
"Appoint Ivan Kirillovich Volynkin as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Turkmenistan," the document reads.
Volynkinkin's service record includes diplomatic experience in the US, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Georgia, and Armenia. Since 2018, he has been the head of the consular department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. He speaks Serbian and English.
Volynkin will succeed Alexander Blokhin, who headed the Russian diplomatic mission in Ashgabat for over a decade.
Turkmenistan actively cooperates with Russian regions such as St Petersburg, Tatarstan, and Astrakhan.
About 200 companies with Russian capital are registered in the Turkmen market. The leading business partners are KAMAZ, Tatneft, Vozrozhdenie, ARETI, and Gazprom.
Russia buys Turkmen gas as part of a five-year contract signed with Ashgabat on 1 July 2019 after a three-year break. The Russian monopoly has pledged to buy up to 5.5bn cubic meters of Turkmen gas annually. That volume will increase to 10.6bn in 2021, and delivery figures for 2022 have not yet been released.
ARETI operates on the Turkmen shelf of the Caspian Sea under a production-sharing agreement signed in 2009. In addition, LUKOIL is negotiating terms of participation as the project operator to develop the joint oil and gas condensate field Dostluk in the Caspian Sea with Azerbaijan.
"Inter RAO, Power Machines expects deals to upgrade and build new power plants in Turkmenistan. In addition, the United Shipbuilding Corporation proposes constructing several cargo and passenger ferries for Turkmenistan.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
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