Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko (l) visits Turkmenistan to discuss with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov (r) direct supplies of Turkmen natural gas to Ukraine. In 1990s Ukraine annually received some 35 billion cubic meters of natural gas, supplied directly from Turkmenistan. In early 2000s Russian energy giant Gazprom began re-exporting Turkmen gas to the ex-Soviet state. Ukraine announced in early August 2009 that it was ready to buy up to 15 billion cubic meters of Turkmen gas annually