Azerbaijan and Russia sign gas deal

At a January 23 meeting attended by the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, a new gas agreement was signed. Head of Russian state-controlled giant Gazprom, Aleksey Miller, and Azerbaijani state oil company president, Rovnag Abdulaev, signed the contract dictating an additional supply of Azeri gas for Russia. The agreement states that in 2012, Russia will receive 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Azerbaijan. Previous deals allowed for only 1.5 billion cubic meters of gas. Both sides feel the deal will satisfy mutual strategic interests.