AFP: Iran is prepared to supply gas to the EU’s flagpship Nabucco gas pipeline, which is aimed at reducing the bloc’s reliance on Russia, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here Tuesday. SOFIA (AFP) Iran is prepared to supply gas to the EU’s flagpship Nabucco gas pipeline, which is aimed at reducing the bloc’s reliance on Russia, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here Tuesday.
“The EU has already pointed out the need to diversify its gas supplies. One of the areas in which Iran can cooperate with Europe in the energy sector is Nabucco,” Mottaki said in Sofia.
“Russia is the world’s biggest gas supplier, followed by Iran. Both countries seek bigger markets,” he also said.
“What choice Europe will make depends on Europe itself,” he added.
The European Union is planning to build the 3,300-kilometre (2,050-mile) Nabucco pipeline to transport gas from the Middle East and Central Asia to its energy-hungry consumers in Europe while bypassing Russia.
Critics note however that if the Nabucco project is to be profitable it will definitely need gas from Iran, which holds the world’s second largest gas reserves but is also subject to international sanctions over its sensitive nuclear programme.
