Sadyr Japarov threatens Gazprom with nationalization of Kyrgyzstan's gas network

The president raised the issue of returning the gas system

On November 3, during a meeting with residents of the Aitmatov and Manas districts of the Talas region, Kyrgyzstan's President Sadyr Japarov stated that if the Russian company Gazprom fails to fulfill its gasification obligations, the country may return the gas system to state control. This was reported by Kun.uz.

The 2013 deal and gasification obligations

According to Japarov, in 2013 the gas system was sold to a Russian company for a symbolic one dollar, and the agreement, as he claims, is valid until approximately 2039. The president recalled how the sale was explained at the time: the country supposedly needed not 'Kyrgyzgaz' itself, but the gas. He emphasized that the agreement includes clauses obliging Gazprom to allocate funds for the gasification of the entire republic, and that for the last two to three years he has been raising the issue of non-fulfillment of these obligations with the company. According to him, the current situation is such that Kyrgyzstan cannot independently gasify its territory: all issues must be coordinated with Gazprom as the system's owner. 'We are not the masters of our own system,' the publication quoted him as saying.

Reference to Kumtor

Japarov stated that he told company representatives: 'I will take back the system, like Kumtor, and carry out gasification myself.' This reference alludes to the 2021 precedent: after a long dispute with the Canadian company Centerra Gold, the Kumtor gold mine came under state control. The publication notes that the president cited this example not by chance—it demonstrates that the threat could be real. The republic's gas networks are managed by Gazprom Kyrgyzstan; previously, company representatives explained the slow pace of gasification by stating that the consumer gas tariff does not cover all its expenses. Gazprom has not yet commented on the president's statement.