Iran, India to finalize 7.5 billion dollar pipeline soon (Roundup)

Apr 29, 2008, 18:53 GMT

New Delhi - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Tuesday held talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on major energy projects and said that a 7.5-billion-dollar gas pipeline would be finalized soon.

The Iranian leader who was in Delhi for a brief visit also lashed out at the United States, saying he doubted the magnitude of human loss in the September 11 2001 attacks which Washington used as a pretext for launching wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

At a press conference in New Delhi, Ahmadinejad reported positive progress on the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline - that has been opposed by the US - describing it a 'pipeline of peace and brotherhood' between the nations.

'The discussions went on positively and we hope that in the near future we can finalize the gas pipeline project,' Ahmadinejad told reporters wrapping up a South Asian tour that included Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The PTI news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying the three countries would finalize in 45 days all agreements for implementation of the project.

All pending issues and agreements would be finalised within 45 days and 'given to the leadership of the three countries. Afterwards we will decide,' he said.

Regarding the talks with Singh which were mainly focussed on major energy deals, Ahmadinejad said a bilateral 22-billion-dollar Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) deal was delayed owing to differences in 'legal interpretations'.

Local media had reported that the deal which was signed in 2003, could not be implemented so far because of reported differences in the cost of gas.

Ahmadinejad however said that Tehran's decision not to expedite the project was related with India's anti-Iran vote at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) two years ago.

Ahmadinejad's visit to India comes against the backdrop of a chill in bilateral relations over the past two years since India sided with the US to vote against Iran at the IAEA.

According to Indian analysts, New Delhi had come under pressure from Washington to withdraw from the IPI project as the US believes it would help strengthen Indian-Iranian relations and nullify its efforts to isolate Tehran.

It was unclear whether the situation in connection with the stand-off between Iran and the West over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme featured in the Tuesday's talks as Ahmadinejad side-stepped questions in this connection at the press conference.

The Iranian leader however criticized US and other nuclear powers for trying to prevent countries like Iran from peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Blaming Washington for deaths of scores of Iraqis he said the US forces should immediately evacuate Iraq and return to their country.

Other areas including stability in Afghanistan, counter-terrorism and economic and strategic interests in Central Asia, as both countries are observers in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), were also discussed in the Singh-Ahmadinejad talks.

During his visit, the first by an Iranian head of state to India in nearly five years, Ahmadinejad also met with his Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil and held discussions. He was scheduled to fly back to Tehran later on Tuesday night.