October 10, 2002	Thursday	Sha’aban 3, 1423

TEHRAN, Oct 9: Tehran and Ankara on Wednesday inked a deal to end a dispute over Iranian gas exports to Turkey, halted more than three months ago over complaints that the gas was of substandard quality.

Both sides said they had found an amiable solution to the quarrel, with Turkey’s Energy Minister Zeki Cakan confirming Iran had agreed to reduce the price and amount of natural gas it supplied to Turkey.

We signed a memorandum of understanding which respects the interests of both countries, Cakan said upon his return from a day of talks with Iranian energy officials, the Anatolia news agency said.

Under the deal, Iran has made its gas much more attractive by agreeing to a reduction both in the price and the amount, he added.

For his part, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said the deal signed with Cakan involved “flexibility” over pricing, suggesting he had bowed to Turkish demands for a price cut, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

Gas does not have a (fixed) international price, and any deal has its own formula in which there is room for flexibility, Zanganeh was quoted as saying.

Neither side gave further details on the compromise, although IRNA said the deal’s formalities should be completed within 10 days, thereby paving the way for a resumption of exports.

Turkey suspended the flow of the gas through a pipeline from the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz to Ankara on June 24, complaining the product was of poor quality.

Iran had rejected Turkish accusations over the quality of the gas, saying the real reason for the cut lies in Turkey’s economic problems or a more competitive Russian offer.

The Iranian-Turkish gas deal, signed in August 1996 by the government of Turkey’s now-banned Islamist prime minister Necmettin Erbakan, has been criticized by the United States on the grounds that it rivalled a major project to carry natural gas from Turkmenistan to western markets via Turkey.

The pipeline started pumping in December 2001, two years behind schedule. Turkey was supposed to import four billion cubic meters (140 billion cubic feet) of Iranian gas in 2002. —AFP