Iran Should Not Have Stopped Import of Turkmenistan Gas
IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK
TEHRAN – Secretary General of Association of Iranian Exporters of Technical and Engineering Services says Iran should not have stopped import of gas from Turkmenistan even with having full domestic gas supply.
Speaking to Mehr news agency, Bahmann Salehi said that each neighbors of Iran has its own advantage and characteristic that the country should take advantage of them in its international relations.
He added that after the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Iran and Turkmenistan have had ties in different fields and in some fields, they have had bartered goods and technical and engineering services and Iran has signed several agreements with Turkmenistan on bartering as its strategic partner.
He blamed Iran’s weak diplomacy for stopping the gas import from Turkmenistan, adding that Foreign Ministry, Oil Ministry and even Energy Ministry should be blamed for this weakness.
Salehi added that after Turkmenistan stopped exporting, Iran failed to resolve this problem peacefully and the case was referred to International Arbitration Court in Switzerland and this is just because of inefficient diplomacy of Iran, adding why such a simple dispute with a friendly country should be taken to the international court.
He further said that Iran should have continued its gas import from Turkmenistan even if the country could supply the northern parts with gas because by this move Iran could keep Turkmenistan dependent on it.
He noted that by importing gas from Turkmenistan, Iran could have bartered goods worth $2b with Turkmens and by this decision, Iranians lost a big market like Turkmenistan.
