Russia supports the China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline project, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said Saturday.

Shuvalov, who was accompanying President Dmitry Medvedev for an informal meeting of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leaders, said that Russia is working with some partners to expand the energy delivery system itself. With the energy infrastructure in this region more diversified and improved, he said, CIS countries will make greater contribution to global energy security.

The China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline stretches 1,833 km from the Turkmen-Uzbek border to China's northwest region of Xinjiang, crossing central Uzbekistan and southern Kazakhstan. The pipeline was put into operation last week after two years of construction.