IRANIAN LEADER HAILS ‘EXCELLENT’ RAPPORT WITH ARMENIA
By Anna Saghabalian

Rdaio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 22 2007

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad praised his country’s "excellent"
relationship with Armenia on Monday as he began a two-day official
visit to Yerevan largely focusing on bilateral cooperation in the
energy sector.

Speaking after talks with President Robert Kocharian, Ahmadinejad said
Iran remains committed to deepening ties with Armenia as it believes
they are "very important" for the two nations and the region as a
whole. "An independent Armenia, a developed Armenia is beneficial
for the region and regional security," he said.

Ahmadinejad also emphasized the fact that he and his Armenian
counterpart are meeting for the third time in 16 months. "This
testifies that relations between the two countries are strong, stable
and developing," he told a joint news conference with Kocharian.

Kocharian described their latest meeting "very frank and open"
and thanked the Islamic Republic for making relations with its sole
Christian neighbor a "priority." "I would especially note our projects
in the energy sector," he said. "The construction of the gas pipeline
[that will pump Iranian natural gas to Armenia] is continuing."

"We discussed and reaffirmed the possibility of building an oil
refinery [in Armenia] and an [Armenian-Iranian] railway," Kocharian
added, referring to fresh multimillion-dollar Armenian-Iranian projects
which are currently undergoing feasibility studies.

The refinery project also enjoys the backing of Russia’s government and
energy corporations like Gazprom. The latter has expressed readiness
to investing most of an estimated $1 billion needed for building the
facility in Armenia’s southeastern Syunik region bordering Iran. The
refinery would process Iranian crude oil and cater for the Iranian
market.

Ahmadinejad and Kocharian met in Syunik last March during the
inauguration of the first Armenian section of the gas pipeline from
Iran. The pipeline’s second, much longer section is expected to be
completed by the end of next year. Much of Iranian gas to be supplied
to Armenia will be converted into electricity that will in turn be
delivered to Iran. The two states are currently building a third
high-voltage transmission line connecting their power grids.

Kocharian also announced that he will open later this week a second,
bigger Armenian highway leading to the Iranian border. He said the
mountainous road will allow for a major increase in Armenian-Iranian
trade.

The volume of bilateral commercial exchange rose by 22 percent to just
over $100 million in the first eight months of this year. Still, Iran
accounted for less than 4 percent of Armenia’s overall external trade.

The talks between Ahmadinejad and Kocharian were followed by the
signing of Armenian-Iranian agreements on mutual protection of
investments, cooperation between the two countries’ central banks and
regular high-level diplomatic contacts. The Iranian president met with
students and professors at Yerevan State University later in the day.