The talks paid particular attention to long-term, large-scale cooperation in the fuel and energy sphere, above all gas.
Another attractive area of cooperation described by President Putin was transport, including the construction of a North-South rail corridor.
Caspian issues were one of the leading topics at the negotiations. Mr Putin and Mr Niyazov, after pointing to the considerable unity of Russia’s and Turkmenistan’s positions on the status of the Caspian Sea, discussed preparations for a meeting of five Caspian heads of state in Ashgabat and the progress on drafting a final declaration for the upcoming summit.
The two leaders exchanged opinions on the most pressing regional and international issues centering on the situation in and around Afghanistan and prospects for peace in that country. In Mr Niyazov’s view, Russia’s and Turkmenistan’s opinions had never differed on a settlement of the Afghan conflict. He recalled that neutral as Turkmenistan was it was letting through its territory about 40% of all humanitarian goods sent to Afghanistan.