CIS Daily Bulletin, February 2

Below is a summary of events in the Commonwealth of Independent States on February 2:

Azerbaijan:

* Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Azerbaijan was interested in the Nabucco pipeline project as the country plans to increase its gas production

Belarus:

* The Belarusian gas transportation company Beltransgaz signed an additional agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom on the price of gas supplies for Belarus in 2009, a Beltransgaz spokesman said

* The Belarusian gas pipeline construction company Belgazstroy has suspended work in Venezuela, while two other Belarusian contracts are in doubt, the Venezuelan ambassador to Minsk, Americo Diaz Nunez, said

Georgia:

* Georgia will not hold talks with Russia on the format of the UN mission in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict zone until Russia acknowledges the country's territorial integrity, a deputy Georgian foreign minister, Davit Jalagonia, said

Kazakhstan:

* Kazakhstan's state debt increased by 412.4 billion tenge ($3.4 billion) to 1.33 trillion tenge ($11 billion) in 2008, Kazakh Finance Minister Bolat Zhamishev said

Ukraine:

* Doctors have removed almost all the dioxin from the body of Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, his doctor said at a news conference

* Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko will convene the National Security and Defense Council on Friday to discuss gas deals with Russia, a presidential spokesman said

* The Ukrainian parliament has come to a preliminary agreement on a decree to set the country's next parliamentary elections for January 17, 2010, a deputy speaker told journalists

* An official UEFA delegation arrived in Ukraine to check on the country's preparations to joint host the Euro 2012 soccer championships, the Ukrainian government said