MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. The first supplies of Russian gas to Iran via the existing infrastructure through Azerbaijan will start this year, their volume will reach to 1.8 billion cubic meters, price negotiations are currently underway, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov said at the 18th meeting of the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Iran.
"This year, the first part of this project, based on the existing infrastructure, will be implemented, and gas supplies to Iran will amount to 1.8 billion cubic meters," he said.
Later, he told reporters that supplies should begin this year, once the parties agree on the price. "Companies are currently discussing the price with each other. We do not interfere in commercial relations between companies," the minister noted.
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad added that the deal has not been finalized yet, but the parties are trying to agree on it as soon as possible. In January, Tsivilyov said that Moscow and Tehran had agreed on the route of the gas pipeline to Iran via Azerbaijan, and negotiations were at the final stage of setting on the price of supplies. The volume of supplies at the first stage could be up to 2 billion cubic meters, with the prospect of increasing it to 55 billion cubic meters. In April, Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali said that Iran had prepared all the necessary infrastructure for the transit of Russian gas through its territory, and the issue had been resolved by 90%.