RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN VISITS TURKMENISTAN

Turkmen President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov (R) welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd R) for a ceremony laying the cornerstone of a new Russian school in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on May 11, 2007. Putin's visit to Central Asia comes amid increased competition for Turkmenistan's vast gas reserves since the death last year of President Saparmurat Niyazov, who signed deals to build export pipelines to China. (UPI Photo/Anatoli Zhdanov)