Cooperation in the energy sector will be an important part of the talks, which would also cover agriculture, trade, telecommunications and the transportation sector, among others, the Kremlin's press office said Thursday.
This will be the forth visit by Medvedev to Turkmenistan, with Moscow trying to improve the relationship with its Central Asian neighbor.
In a sign that the relationship in the gas sector has remained strained, a spokeswoman for Gazprom said no top official from the gas giant is accompanying Medvedev on his trip to Turkmenistan.
The relationship between the two countries worsened last year, after Gazprom--facing a sharp drop in gas demand amid the global economic crisis--reduced drastically the flow of Turkmen gas into Russia in April 2009.
Ashgabat then claimed the move caused an explosion on a gas pipeline to Russia and demanded compensation from Gazprom for damages.
Exports of Turkmen gas to Russia were only resumed in January 2010 at a rate of just 10 billion cubic meters/year, following Medvedev's previous visit to Ashgabat in late December.
Before the incident, Turkmenistan had been exporting some 50 Bcm/year of gas to Gazprom under a long-term contract, out of around 80 Bcm/year produced in the country.
Over the year, Turkmenistan has repeatedly announced plans to diversify its exports routes, drifting away from Russia and raising concern in Moscow.
JOINT PROJECTS UNCERTAIN
Joint projects between Turkmenistan and Russia, including the construction of a major pipeline along the Caspian Sea aimed at channeling massive export flows of Central Asian gas through Russia to European markets, seem to have been stuck since early 2009.
The two countries signed a deal to jointly build a Caspian coastal pipeline in 2007, with the plan envisaging an increase in total gas transport capacity from Central Asian countries via Russia to some 80 Bcm/year (2.82 Tcf/year), up from nearly 60 Bcm/year now.
The project, however, has seen little progress since the cut in gas purchases by Gazprom in April 2009.
At the same time, Turkmenistan is increasingly inviting foreign majors to help it explore its gas reserves as the country plans a dramatic speeding up of its gas development and is intensifying talks with other countries on exports of its gas, including to China and Europe.
In 2010, Turkmenistan's gas exports are likely to exceed 30 Bcm, with 10-11 Bcm going to Russia, 2 Bcm to China and 10-15 Bcm to Iran.
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