Pipeline talks to continue: Iran

'Talks with the Indian officials will continue till the final result is achieved,' an Iranian foreign office statement released by the country's embassy here said.

Reacting to a television interview with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki aired over the weekend, a foreign office spokesman clarified that besides its eagerness to pursue talks on the multi-billion dollar tri-nation gas pipeline project, Iran was also determined to go ahead with an LNG deal with India.

The statement pointed out that during the interview, Mottaki had only said 'the LNG deal under the current circumstances is getting (into) some difficulties.'

'Mottaki never questioned the determination of the two countries regarding the LNG deal,' the statement said.

Mottaki had stated in the interview: 'I think both sides found out that there are some specific difficulties to implementing the project agreement as it is now.'

Mottaki was scheduled to visit India last week but had to postpone this due to the escalation in the conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.

The difficulties Mottaki referred to are related to the price finalised by India and Iran for the supply of 5 million tonnes of LNG to New Delhi from 2009 under a long-term contract.

While Iran has been stating that the agreement is still to be ratified by the higher authorities and has been seeking to renegotiate the price in view of the high volatility of global gas prices, India has been maintaining that the contract is final and as such is not open for renegotiation.

The issue has arisen ahead of the trilateral secretary-level talks on the proposed 2,100-km gas pipeline, being hosted by New Delhi Aug 3-4.

As in the case of the LNG deal, the issue of natural gas prices is holding up the progress on the pipeline project, which is seen as vital for helping India and Pakistan bridge the growing gap between gas demand and supply.

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