Gazprom CEO Aleksey Miller revealed in a TV interview that Russia is looking to produce long-term cooperation agreements on natural gas supplies with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Until recently, Miller noted that Russia sought more short term cooperative relationships with its Central Asian allies, in an interview with Russia 1 TV which aired on Sunday. However he said that the nations are now seeking to set “the task of reaching a 15-year horizon.”

When a reporter asked why Russia is now delivering gas to Central Asia, instead of Central Asia delivering gas to Russia, as was the state of affairs during the times of the Soviet Union, the CEO of Gazprom noted that Russia had significantly expanded its natural resource base, and it now is the largest in the world in terms of production.

Miller added, “Secondly, we must understand that the countries of Central Asia are currently developing very dynamically. We understand the growth rate very well.”

Miller previously revealed earlier in the month that Gazprom would be expanding its natural gas deliveries to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan through the Central Asia-Center (CAC) pipeline, noting that by mid-2024, the parties are seeking to establish a contractual foundation for cooperation.

The CAC pipeline is a 3,040 mile long onshore pipeline project which was built between 1960 and 1988, and is operated by Gazprom. The pipelines which transport its natural gas travel from Turkmenistan via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to Russia.

Estimates predict that Russia may be supplying as much as 20 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Central Asia by 2030.