TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Dec. 30 -- Uzbekistan has stopped the supply of natural gas to Kyrgyzstan in a dispute over unpaid bills, the government Pravda Vostoka newspaper reported on Saturday.
At the beginning of December, Kyrgyzstan's outstanding debt for Uzbek gas supplies amounted to $1.6 million, which had to be paid off in hard currency, and $3.million, which had to be paid off in kind.
"Almost 33 percent of natural gas used up by Kyrgyzstan has not been repaid to present day," the newspaper wrote.
The newspaper accused the Kyrgyz government of trying to convert the economic question into a political one.
Meanwhile, according to the regional Asia-Plus news agency, Uzbekistan will not stop supply the of natural gas to neighboring Tajikistan before the end of this year. The cutoff point for the supply of natural gas to Tajikistan was December 21.
Tajikkommunservis, the Tajik municipal service state concern, owes its Uzbek suppliers $1.3 million. Tajik consumers owe the Tajik state concern over $30 million.
