New Delhi
28 November 2007
What's the truth, Mr Minister? Pranab says US has not asked India to shelve Iran gas
pipeline project, US legislator renews call for cutting economic ties with Iran
Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday told
the Lok Sabha that several key issues including pricing formula, transit fee and
transportation tariff are under discussion with Iran and Pakistan for a gas pipeline.
In a written reply to Asaduddin Owaisi of the All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen, Mr
Mukherjee said "No" to the question whether the United States has asked India not to
move forward with the planned pipeline project that would bring natutal gas from Iran to
India.
Ironically, Mr Mukherjee's response comes on the day when a US legislator, Democratic
Congressman from Massachussetts Edward Markey, said in Washington that New Delhi
should sever "economic and military ties with Tehran."
A PTI report from Washington quoted Markey as saying that in December 2006, when the
US Congress preliminarily approved the India-US civil nuclear cooperation agreement,
the Congress required India's "full and active participation" in efforts to end Iran's
nuclear weapons programme.
"Instead, India has spent the last year building its relationship with Iran, much to the
dismay of US lawmakers," the report quoted Markey as saying in a statement. "India's
continuing to cozy up to Iran, a country that has blatantly disregarded international
pressure to end its nuclear programme, is undermining our ability to isolate Tehran," he
said.
Mr Mukherjee told the House that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been
negotiating the pipeline project with Iran and Pakistan. The sixth meeting of the tripartie
Joint Working Group was held in Delhi on June 28 and 29 this year. Three meetings of
the India-Pakistan Joint Working Group and five meetings of the India-Iran Special Joint
Working Group have been held so far.
Pakistan has since reached a bilateral understanding with Iran on buying natural gas
from Iran. The breakthrough was achieved earlier this month after a Pakistani delegation
led by Petroleum Secretary Farrakh Qayyum visited Tehran for signing an accord on gas
pricing formula.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed the India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project
with Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi in New Delhi earlier this month
but he did not make any express commitment to pursue the matter any more vigorously
than he has so far. He only told the Iranian minister that certain technical issues like
transit fee first need to be resolved with Pakistan.
The Iranian minister said that piped Iranian gas could reach the Indian border as early
as 2013 if New Delhi resolves the issue of transit fee with Islamabad.
In response to a question by CK Chandrappan and Gurudas Dasgupta of CPI, on the
reaction of the government on the US sanctions on Iran, Mr Mukherjee said that India
has consistently maintained that the nuclear issue of Iran should be resolved through
dialogue and negotiations within the framework of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA.)
The minister explained that the latest set of sanctions on Iran was announced by the US
on October 25 this year. The US has designated several Iranian military and financial
institutions and individuals as entities facilitating nuclear proliferation and financing
terrorism. As per the sanctions, no US citizen or organisation will be allowed to engage
in financial transactions with these persons and entities.
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