Recently, a meeting took place in Moscow, which, in addition to Sergey Tsivilev and Danyar Amangeldiev, also included Minister of Energy Talaybek Ibraev and representatives of 'RusHydro'. As the photographs showed, Alexey Shirshov, who previously held the position of Chairman of the Board of OJSC "TNK 'Dastan'," was also present at the meeting.
Recall that in the fall of 2012, Kyrgyzstan and Russia signed an agreement on the construction and operation of the Upper Naryn Cascade of Hydroelectric Power Stations, which includes four hydropower plants. Construction work continued until 2015; however, according to the official version, the economic crisis in Russia prevented investors from fulfilling their financial obligations, leading to the project's freezing. In January 2016, at the initiative of President Almazbek Atambayev, Kyrgyzstan terminated the agreement and owed Russia $37 million, which is the amount invested before the denunciation.
In June 2017, Atambayev announced the finding of a new investor willing to implement the project. This was the Czech company Liglass Trading CZ s. r. o., which was announced on July 10 during the signing of the investment agreement.
However, after that, a scandal arose involving the presidents of the Czech Republic and Kyrgyzstan, as well as their administrations. Kyrgyzstan stated that the Czech company was constantly delaying the payment of $37 million to 'RusHydro'.
In September 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Duyshenbek Zilaliev announced the termination of the contract with Liglass Trading, adding that the amount of $1 million 147 thousand, transferred by the company as a guarantee deposit, would remain with Kyrgyzstan.
In 2018, 'RusHydro' filed a lawsuit in The Hague demanding the return of the $37 million spent on the project. The court supported the Russian company, partially satisfying its claims and recognizing that Kyrgyzstan was obliged to compensate the funds invested by 'RusHydro' in the construction of the Upper Naryn Cascade of HPPs through loans issued to the joint venture.
In 2022, when Akylbek Japarov held the position of Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, he reported the completion of disputes surrounding the Upper Naryn Cascade of HPPs. An agreement was reached that the $37 million in dispute between 'RusHydro' and the Ministry of Energy would be transferred to internal sovereign debt. However, in fact, Kyrgyzstan did not pay this amount.
