Iran for trilateral summit to resolve gas pricing

Tehran -- Iran Wednesday offered to host a trilateral summit to resolve the issue of pricing of gas to be supplied through the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline, but did not succeed in resolving a deadlock over the $22-billion LNG deal with India that was finalised two years ago.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki, also stressed the "centrality" of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in a negotiated solution to Tehran's nuclear standoff with the West, according to a report by the Iranian news agency IRNA.

India also asked Iran to "honour" the 2005 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) deal for exporting 5 million tonnes of LNG annually over the next 25 years. "If we had an agreement, we wouldn't still be negotiating," Mukherjee said, indicating that India was not yet ready to pay higher price for gas as demanded by Iran.

Mukherjee also stressed that the price escalation had been built into the agreement.

Mottaki, on his part, underlined Iran's keenness to push the IPI project and hoped that the project would be finalised soon. He proposed a summit-level meeting of the three countries to be held in Tehran to resolve issues related to the 7.4-billion "peace pipeline" project.

Dates for a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Iran will be decided through diplomatic channels, he said.

Despite several rounds of negotiations, the three countries have not agreed to a pricing formula. Last month, Iran said it was not willing to sell the gas at a rate lower than $6 per million British thermal units but India was not willing to buy at more than $4 per mBtu at the Iran-Pakistan border.

Mottaki said Iran considered India a "trusted friend" and was committed to selling LNG to the latter and hoped details would be finalised soon. "There could be mutually beneficial long-term arrangements including our agreement on supply of LNG or the proposed IPI pipeline project."

Even as tensions continued to escalate in the Gulf following the deployment of a second American aircraft group in the region, Mukherjee urged restraint and flexibility by all sides and reiterated New Delhi's old position of a central role for the IAEA in resolving issues about the nature of the Iranian nuclear programme, suspected by the West of developing sanctions.

"We believe that Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved peacefully and through dialogue and negotiations," he stressed.

India had voted against Tehran's nuclear programme at the IAEA twice over the last two years.

"The IAEA should play a central role in resolving the outstanding issues," Mukherjee said. "A peaceful negotiated solution would be facilitated by enhanced cooperation between Iran and IAEA and a demonstration of restrain and flexibility by all sides," he added.

Taking a nuanced stand on the UN Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran, Mukherjee said that the resolution also emphasised the role of the IAEA and provides an opportunity for resolving the issue through dialogue.

Mottaki asserted Tehran's legal rights to pursue civil nuclear programme and said that it was ready to work for strengthening of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Tehran will not accept any pre-conditions for talks, he said.