Azerbaijan, Baku, May 28/ Trend F.Karimov/
The National Iranian Gas Company said in a statement today that the exports of natural gas to Armenia have not been halted, the Mehr News Agency reported.
Iran bartered 500 mcm of gas with Armenian electricity in 2012.
"At present, Iran sells its natural gas to Turkey at $335 per 1,000 cubic meters, but starting with the next year the price will rise to $440. As Turkey consumes huge volume of gas, the sides can kick off talks, and we will be offered the price of not less than $370," Daily Tehran Times quoted Armenian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisyan on May 26.
"If we are able to supply cheaper gas from Iran, then, of course, we will go for it, but at the moment Iranian gas is more expensive than the Russian one, and here we have nothing to hide," he added.
Commenting on the talks that Iran-Armenia gas pipeline has been transferred to the company HayRusGasArd allegedly under the pressure from Russia, Movsisyan said that there was no pressure.
In 2004, the Armenian government initiated construction of Iran-Armenia gas pipeline to expand its gas import network. Armenia started receiving the Iranian gas through the pipeline on May 15, 2009. The gas delivery was agreed upon "Gas in exchange for electricity" principle.
According to the Public Services Regulatory Commission, Armenia imported over 2.4 billion cubic meters of gas in 2012, of them over 1.9 billion from Russia, and 488.3 million from Iran.