Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 24
By Farhad Daneshvar – Trend:
Iran will pay $1.9 billion in compensation to Turkey after the International Court of Arbitration ruled in Ankara’s favor in a dispute over pricing, Hamid-Reza Araqi, Iranian deputy oil minister, has said.
He added that Tehran and Ankara have also agreed on a 13.3-percent discount on the prices of gas delivered from the Islamic Republic to Turkey, Mehr news agency reported Jan. 24.
In 1996, Iran and Turkey inked a 25-year deal on supplying 30 million cubic meters of gas to Turkey per day. Ankara appealed to the International Court of Arbitration regarding the price on Iranian gas in March 2012.
Although the contract is still in place, it remains a sore point in the two countries' economic relations. Turkey urged for a 25-percent discount from Iran on the supplied gas, while Iran said it would agree to the discount if Turkey increased the amount of imported gas.
Iran is considered a major gas supplier to Turkey as the Islamic Republic annually delivers about 10 billion cubic meters of gas there.