BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 18
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi agreed to solve the problem of resumption of natural gas supply from Turkmenistan to Iran, Trend reports citing Business Turkmenistan.
The mentioned issue was discussed during the meeting between the presidents of Turkmenistan and Iran within the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held in Tajikistan.
The Iranian President noted that Tehran and Ashgabat have good opportunities to strengthen interaction and deepen bilateral relations.
Raisi also said that energy exchange and increased exchange and transit of goods between the two countries are among the potential areas for strengthening cooperation between Iran and Turkmenistan.
In turn, the President of Turkmenistan stated that the activation of transit opportunities between Iran and Turkmenistan will play a significant role in increasing the level of economic and trade interaction between the states.
According to the information, Turkmenistan stopped gas supplies to Iran from January 1, 2017 due to the large debt of the Iranian company for the gas supplied earlier. After lengthy negotiations, the parties did not come to a solution to the issue of payment and the Turkmengaz State Concern was forced to file a claim with the International Court of Arbitration (ICA).
In 2020, ICA announced a verdict on the Iranian-Turkmen gas dispute in favor of Turkmenistan.