AKIPRESS.COM - Russian gas giant Gazprom chief Alexei Miller said in televised remarks while visiting Turkmenistan that the company expects to start buying gas from the country starting Jan 1, 2019.

"We are talking about the resumption of purchases of Turkmen gas by Gazprom in the very near future - from January 1, 2019," Miller said, adding that details of the new deal still must be finalized.

Visiting as part of a Russian delegation headed by Konstantin Chuychenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Chief of the Government Staff, Alexey Miller took part in a meeting with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, President of Turkmenistan, the company said in a statement.

Russia was the main importer of Turkmenistan's gas before it stopped buying it at the start of 2016 amid a slump in global prices, citing alleged contract violations.

Turkmenistan then halted shipments of natural gas to Iran, citing Iran's debt for previous supplies, and was left with China as its sole customer.