Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 16 2007

Armenia, Iran To Inaugurate Gas Pipeline Monday

By Astghik Bedevian

The presidents of Armenia and Iran will inaugurate on Monday the
first Armenian section of a natural gas pipeline connecting their
countries, officials in Yerevan said on Friday.

President Robert Kocharian’s press secretary, Victor Soghomonian,
told RFE/RL that the opening ceremony will take place near the
Armenian border town of Meghri. He said top Iranian officials led by
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will attend it along with their
Armenian counterparts.

Energy Minister Armen Movsisian was due to fly to Tehran later on
Friday. A spokeswoman for the Armenian Energy Ministry said he will
prepare for the meeting of the two presidents and discuss `other
details of the pipeline’s opening’ with officials there. Movsisian
already visited the Iranian capital for that purpose last month.

The 40-kilometer stretch of the pipeline running through Armenia’s
southeastern Syunik region was initially due to come on stream by the
end of December. Armenian officials have blamed the delay on bad
weather and unspecified `technical problems.’ However, the Iranian
side insisted in January that the facility is essentially complete
and ready to start pumping Iranian gas.

Media speculation has linked the delay with the Armenian government’s
apparent plans to incorporate the pipeline into the ARG national gas
distribution network, 58 percent of which is owned by Russia’s
state-run Gazprom monopoly. Analysts wonder whether the pipeline
would reduce Armenia’s energy dependence on Russia in these
circumstances. Also, it is not clear if Armenia can make use of
Iranian gas before building the second, much longer section of the
facility.

Soghomonian declined to comment on reports that Kocharian and
Ahmadinejad will sign agreements on new bilateral energy projects in
Meghri. `Everything will become clear on the spot,’ he said.

The two leaders already signed a number of economic agreements during
Kocharian’s visit to Iran last July. One of them envisages
construction of a third transmission line that will connect the power
grids of the two neighboring states.