Russia and Kazakhstan agree to share gas, border

MOSCOW, Jan 17 (AFP) - Russia and Kazakhstan agreed Monday to jointly develop a key natural gas field, the second largest in the former Soviet republic, opening the way for the two neighbors to sign a border delimitation agreement.
The border agreement is expected to be signed during Kremlin talks Tuesday between President Vladimir Putin and his visiting Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agencies.
Analysts expect the once disputed Imashevsk gas and condensation field on the Caspian Sea to be jointly developed by Russia's Gazprom natural gas giant and Kazakhstan's state oil company KazMunaiGaz.
Border delimitation agreements are a sensitive issue in the region as the countries on the Caspian Sea battle for access to oil and gas reserves buried under its waters.
Iran in particular is unhappy with its share of the Caspian and together with Turkmenistan is pushing for an agreement that would see Russia and other Caspian states partially cede their share.

01/17/2005 18:09 GMT - AFP