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Turkey suggests transporting Iranian gas to Europe

The Turkish authorities earlier said they viewed Iran as a possible supply source for the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline

ANKARA, April 6. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the prospects of transporting Iranian gas to Europe during his official visit to Iran on April 7, Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said on Monday.

The statement comes in the wake of positive shifts made in talks between Iran and the Group of Six world powers in Lausanne, Switzerland, last week on Iran’s controversial nuclear program, paving the way for the international community to gradually lift sanctions from the Islamic Republic.

The Turkish authorities earlier said they viewed Iran as a possible supply source for the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline. The plans for building the pipeline designed to pump natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijani portion of the Caspian Sea to Europe across Georgia and Turkey were announced in 2011. The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline construction was planned to be completed in 2018.

The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline is part of the Southern Gas Corridor lobbied by the European Union as an alternative to Europe-bound supplies via Russian gas pipelines.

During his visit to Iran, Erdogan is also expected to discuss a discount for the price of Iranian gas supplied to Turkey. Ankara currently buys 10 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas a year, which is more expensive than natural gas imported from Russia and Azerbaijan.