ASHGABAT (TCA) — Turkmenistan has “suddenly” halted natural gas supplies to Iran in a dispute between the two countries over unpaid arrears, RFE/RL reports with reference to the Iranian National Gas Company.
“The gas company of Turkmenistan has cut gas exports to Iran, contrary to the agreement reached, by demanding immediate payment of arrears,” the Iranian National Gas Company said in a January 1 statement.
The statement said the move was a “sheer violation” of the gas deal between the two countries.
The statement said the two countries had been holding discussions on the payment and amount of arrears Iran owes to Turkmenistan.
There was no immediate reaction from Turkmenistan.
Iran has imported natural gas from Turkmenistan since 1997 for distribution in the north of the country.
The National Iranian Gas Company asked consumers to “pay attention to consumption,” but added that with domestic production rising, the country could cope by making savings.
Ashgabat claimed that Iran owed it $1.8 billion from sales between 2007 and 2008 when freezing winters led to severe shortages across 20 Iranian provinces, forcing the country to raise gas imports from its northeastern neighbor, Iran’s PressTV news agency reported.
Both sides eventually arrived at an agreement over their differences last Saturday after a series of intense negotiations that at least in one point approached the breaking point.
“Due to Turkmens’ persistence on [threatening] to cut gas exports to Iran over claims of a $2 billion debt, the Iranian delegation left the negotiating table to return home,” wrote Mehr News Agency in an article. “At the airport, Turkmenistan’s officials persuaded the Iranian delegation to come back to the negotiating table in hopes for reaching an agreement on gas delivery to Iran,” the news agency added.
Shana news agency reported that negotiations between both sides will continue over the next two months until they arrive at a final agreement.
