Iran and Turkey agree to resume gas trade

Tehran and Ankara signed an agreement to resume flow of Iranian gas after a halt of 144 days by Turkey on quality grounds. Turkish Energy Minister Zeki Cakan and his Iranian counterpart Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told they were satisfied with the results of the agreement.
"It is not supposed yet to announce the price of gas," Zanganeh told when asked whether the two sides agreed over Turkey's demand for a discount. "Gas does not have an international price and any deal has its own formula in which there is room for any flexibility," the Iranian oil minister added.

Cakan announced that his country had halted imports of natural gas from Iran via a pipeline since June 24. Ankara, he added, would resume the flow only if the composition of the gas is brought in line with the contract. Iran rejected Turkish claims that the imported gas was poor in quality, with the oil minister saying the snag had been invoked by Russia's offer of cheaper gas.
Iran and Turkey launched in December a 2,577 km pipeline, running from the north-eastern city of Tabriz to Ankara, which supplies gas from southern Iran near the Persian Gulf. Under a $ 30-bn deal, sealed during the tenure of Turkey's former prime minister Necmettin Erbakan, Iran would initially supply 3 bn cm (105 bn cf) of gas a year and increase it gradually to 10 bn cm (350 bn cf) in 2007.