Tehran, Iran, November 20
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
An Iranian official has said a court ruling over Turkey's plead against Iran in a gas trade deal will be fair.
The fact that global reductions of gas price have benefited Iran will make the court ruling fair and non-problematic, Azizollah Ramezani, director of international affairs at Iran's National Gas Company, said, IRNA news agency reported November 20.
A court is expected in about one month to rule a case in which Ankara had sued Iran for selling gas at unconventionally high price to Turkey.
Maybe if prices were as one or two years ago, the court would have passed a harsh verdict against Iran, but since prices are constantly oscillating, they have been sort of confused, Ramezani noted.
In 1996, Iran and Turkey signed a 25-year deal on supply of Turkey with 30 million cubic meters of gas daily. Although the contract is still in place, it remains a sore point in the two countries' gas relationship. The two sides have held new talks on both price and volume of imported gas from Iran.
Turkey wants Iran to bring the price down to international levels as Turkey believes that the price is high, asking for a 25-percent discount. Iran, also, has conditioned a reduced gas price on Turkey importing more gas from Iran.
Iran reportedly charges Turkey $490 for every 1,000 cubic meters of natural gas it exports to its neighbor. Turkey claims that the Republic of Azerbaijan and Russia supply gas to Turkey at $335 and $425 per 1,000 cubic meters, respectively.
Turkey has filed two complaints in the International Court of Arbitration accusing Iran of overcharging for its gas, while also complaining of its low quality and quantity, first of which have been announced in favor of Iran.
Iran is Turkey 's second supplier of gas after Russia, providing for one-fifth of the country's consumption.