Iran on Tuesday said it could not wait “indefinitely” for India to decide on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project while negotiations with Pakistan had gone ahead to the “stages of implementation.”
Senior officials in the government have indicated that the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project will be one of the major issues to be discussed at the next meeting of the India-Iran joint working group (JWG). “The JWG is expected to take place in Tehran and mutually convenient dates are being worked out,” said officials.
However, at a press conference in New Delhi, the Iranian ambassador to India Seyed Mehdi Nabizadeh said, “Our negotiations with Pakistan have gone ahead to the stages of implementation…We have kept our doors open for India to join the project. It (Iran) will not wait indefinitely. There must be a time limit.”
The IPI project was conceived in 1995. India has not taken a firm decision regarding its involvement in the project, citing security concerns in Pakistani territory. In the 2,100 km, the Iran-Pakistan portion is expected to be constructed in five years. Although the IPI talks have not broken any new grounds, post 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the whole project has come to a standstill. However, with the recent offer made by India to have foreign secretary level talks with Pakistan, there is hope that India will react in a positive manner over the IPI.
According to sources, while India also rejected the hefty transit fee demands of Pakistan, reportedly, both Iran and Pakistan are keen to get China on board. However, at the press conference the Iranian ambassador expressed hope that the project would be implemented trilaterally in the near future.
Replying to a question on Iranian Deputy Oil Minister’s visit to India recently and his talks with Indian officials, Nabizadeh said the negotiations were on between the two countries and covered many areas of cooperation. A delegation from the ministry of petroleum from India would travel to Tehran to continue the discussions, he added.
He also denied reports that Mukesh Ambani Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 facility had since last year stopped selling gasoline to the Islamic nation in an apparent bid to escape US sanctions. Reliance till 2008 mostly sold gasoline (petrol) to Iran, and late last year sources close to the company claimed that it had since April 2009 completely stopped shipments from its twin refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat to that country.
The US is seeking to contain gasoline supplies from refiners to Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons programme. Some US Senators have proposed giving President Barack Obama the authority to impose sanctions against companies supplying gasoline to Iran. ?All I can say is it (fuel imports from Reliance) has not stopped,? Nabizadeh said.
When asked if Reliance was directly selling fuel to Iran or petrol cargoes sold to traders were being redirected from ports such as Dubai after minor blending, he said: “You know that better than me… we continue to get (fuel from Reliance).”
He also said that Tehran welcomed the proposed foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan and expressed willingness to play a role between the two countries to resolve differences.