“We are planning to take dispute with Turkmenistan’s state owned gas company, Turkmengas, over the quality of the delivered gas to International Court of Arbitration,” said Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the Iranian Minister of Petroleum, on Monday.
He added that Iran is planning to lodge another complaint against Turkmenistan over the price, as Mr. Namdar Zanganeh holds that the price set by the Turkmens is too high, and they should review it.
“Tehran and Ashgabat are reciprocally following complaints against each other,” recounted the Iranian oil minister.
“They are claiming that Iran owes them $1.5 billion in payments for gas delivered to Iran, but we hold that we have paid off our debt and the number is not correct,” said the Iranian minister.
An institution for the resolution of international commercial disputes, the International Court of Arbitration is part of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) headquartered in France’s capital city of Paris. The court is made up of more than 100 members from about 90 countries.
Turkmenistan’s decision to unilaterally halt natural gas supplies to Iran in December 2016 is considered a violation of the terms of its contract with Iran. The country increased gas prices nine-fold to $360 per 1,000 cubic meters from $40.
Bitterness lingers over what ensued in the cold winter of 2007-2008, when Turkmenistan, according to NIGC, took advantage of shortages in Iran and jacked up gas prices nine-fold, reportedly to $360 per 1,000 cubic meters from the agreed $40. According to Turkmen officials, Iran's debt had piled up during that period.
YNG/IRN 82812363
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