Energy-rich Turkmenistan has fired two high-ranking officials connected with the secretive Central Asian state's main oil and gas companies, state media reported Monday.
"Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov fired Toyidurdi Durdiev, deputy head of state concern Turkmenneft, and Durdiy Tadzhiev, deputy head of state concern Turkmengaz, for serious deficiencies and errors in their work," the state-run daily Neutral Turkmenistan said.
Turkmen media didn't offer further commentary on why the two men had been fired.
However, the dismissals come amid a row with Russia over a pipeline explosion last month that saw Turkmenistan's gas exports through Russia nearly halted.
Turkmenistan has blamed Russian energy giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) for causing the explosion on the Central Asia-Center supply network by unexpectedly cutting its imports of natural gas, causing a pressure buildup.
The row sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity on the part of the European Union and the U.S., both keen to open up Turkmenistan's massive energy resources and to break Moscow's stranglehold on Central Asian energy supplies.
Russia buys gas from Central Asia in order to supplement its own reserves and meet demand from Europe.
Russia currently has a near monopoly on handling Turkmen energy exports but has faced dwindling orders from E.U. states as the financial crisis has slashed demand.