Iran’s gas discount not enough: Turkey

ANKARA

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız addresses the media in Ankara.

Iran’s four-page discount proposal on the price of natural gas it sells to Turkey is “not enough,” Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said June 10 after attending a Turkey-Iran Business Forum in Ankara.

Iran has also imposed a condition that Turkey withdraws from the five-month-old arbitration talks on the price Iran charges for natural gas, which Turkey has refused, Yıldız added.

The latest concession from Iran came two months ago when it offered a potential discount if Turkey were to increase the amount it buys, but Yıldız said the offer “did not have a concrete price discount.”

Negotiations between Turkey and Iran on energy topics and a discount on the natural gas that Turkey buys from Iran will continue next week, the Turkish minister added.

Energy-hungry Turkey imports 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas at a price of $507 per cubic meters. However, Turkey’s complaints are due to the high prices and the lack of security over Iran’s energy supply, which sporadically halts gas flow.