Public TV, Armenia
Oct 24 2007

IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS IRAN-ARMENIA GAS PIPELINE MIGHT BE EXTENDED TO
EUROPE

Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad has said that the Iran-Armenia
gas pipeline, which is currently under construction, might be
extended to export gas to Europe.

The pipeline was originally designed to deliver Iranian gas to
Armenia, but Iran welcomes the idea of using it for transiting gas to
Europe, Ahmadinezhad said in an interview with Armenian Public TV,
broadcast on 24 October.

"The Europe option is a very good idea and we welcome it. We need to
carry out a feasibility study, and if the results are positive, I see
no problem. Until then let the Armenian people use the gas pipeline,
especially during winter months, and we will then discuss prospects,"
the Iranian president told Public TV.

The president also said talks continued on the joint
Armenian-Iranian-Russian project of construction of an oil refinery
in Armenia.

"I assess the negotiations very positively," he said. "Let us wait
for their result, and afterwards an agreement could be signed. This
is a successful field for trilateral Armenia-Iran-Russia
cooperation."

The refinery is expected to be of regional importance, Ahmadinezhad
added.