Turkmenistan President Saparmurat Niyazov told German businessmen that his gas-rich country could export natural gas to Germany but only with Russia\'s approval, state-controlled television reported Thursday. Niyazov told the visiting delegation on Wednesday that Turkmenistan could export up to 30 billion cubic meters (1,059 billion cubic feet) of gas to Western Europe via the \"Central Asia-Center\" pipeline going from Turkmenistan to Russia, according to Turkmen television. The question is, Niyazov said in televised remarks, \"will Russia allow us to do it?\" The former Soviet republic, which is ruled with an iron fist by Niyazov, has stepped up efforts to export its vast gas wealth. The visiting German delegation included Klaus Mangold, an executive adviser to automotive giant Daimler-Chrysler. Germany in recent years has sought to secure a more reliable gas supply for its consumers. In September, then-Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sealed a major agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to build a pipeline under the Baltic Sea. Currently, most of Germany\'s -- and Europe\'s -- gas imports go through pipelines traversing Poland and Belarus or Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Russia supplies a third of Germany\'s gas and a quarter of Europe\'s. (AP)