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Russia, Uzbekistan reaffirm deals to boost gas supplies to Russia

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MOSCOW, February 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and Uzbekistan reaffirmed on Wednesday plans to modernize a Soviet-era gas pipeline to boost supplies, consolidating Moscow's monopoly on Central Asian gas.

Speaking after talks with visiting President Islam Karimov, President Vladimir Putin said: "Both sides reaffirmed their interest in implementing agreements to swiftly modernize the natural gas transportation infrastructure in the Central Asian region."

"We look to proactive cooperation with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in their implementation," Putin said.

The four former Soviet allies agreed in May to modernize the 1974 pipeline, which runs from Turkmenistan via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to Russia, in a bid to raise its capacity by 20 billion cubic meters from the current 50 billion per day.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov earlier said the pipeline would eventually pump 230 million cubic meters of gas per day.

Moscow, which has sought to maintain access to Central Asian gas deposits and counter U.S. and EU attempts to reroute pipelines away from Russia, has also secured deals with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to pump Caspian gas via its territory, dealing a blow on the Nabucco pipeline planned to detour Russia.

Karimov, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 18 years, has distanced himself from the West and moved closer to Russia over criticism of his handling of the Andijan unrest in 2005, when hundreds of people were reportedly gunned down by government troops.

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