(((I hate to say "they could do worse" than sucking up to the petrocrat empire of Vladimir Putin, but wow, Turkmenistan could do a LOT worse.)))
TURKMEN PRESIDENT DECREES EDUCATION REFORM... Newly elected Turkmen
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov issued a decree on February 15
rolling back his predecessor's curtailment of the country's educational system, turkmenistan.ru reported. The decree will increase grade-school education from nine to 10 years, and university education from two years of study and two years of work to five years of study. The decree sets up a task force with representatives from various ministries to draw up plans for the reform within three months. The reforms will go into effect for the school year starting in September. Education reform figured among Berdymukhammedov's presidential election-campaign promises (see "RFE/RL Newsline,"
January 5, 2007). DK
...SAYS TURKMENISTAN WILL HONOR RUSSIAN GAS CONTRACT. At a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and Aleksei Miller, who heads the state-controlled Russian gas company Gazprom, President
Berdymukhammedov affirmed that Turkmenistan will honor its April 2003
agreement to ship increasing quantities of natural gas to Russia through 2028, RIA-Novosti reported. "I think that in the future,
Russian-Turkmen relations will grow stronger in all areas, including energy, oil and gas, and humanitarian ties," Berdymukhammedov commented. DK
U.S. CALLS TURKMEN ELECTION 'MODEST STEP FORWARD.' State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told a briefing in Washington on February 15
that Turkmenistan's February 11 presidential election represented "a modest step forward," AP reported. "Democracy takes time to establish," McCormack said. "We encourage the government of
Turkmenistan to take the first essential steps toward establishing a more transparent and open society and to be steadfast throughout the transition process." Also on February 15, U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher met with
Berdymukhammedov in Ashgabat, turkmenistan.ru reported. Boucher reportedly told Berdymukhammedov that the United States "pays great attention to the development of relations with Turkmenistan." Boucher also said that Washington is ready to help the newly elected president implement the reforms he outlined in his inauguration address (see "RFE/RL Newsline," February 14, 2007). DK
