President: Iran Ready to Boost Capacity of Turkmenistan’s Gas Swap with Azerbaijan

Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi in a meeting with his Turkmen counterpart Serdar Berdimuhamedow declared Tehran’s preparedness to help increase the volume of Turkmenistan’s gas swap with the neighboring country of Azerbaijan.

Given the recent request of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to increase the capacity of Turkmenistan’s gas swap to Azerbaijan through our country,” Rayeesi said in the meeting held on the sidelines of the 6th summit of the heads of the Caspian Sea littoral states in Ashgabat on Wednesday. He also reiterated his administration’s “neighborhood-first policy”, adding that relations between Tehran and Ashgabat are expanding rapidly based on the development of neighborly relations and mutual trust and extensive cooperation.

“The implementation of the memoranda of understanding and cooperation documents that were signed during your recent visit to Tehran will accelerate the level and expansion of cooperation between the two countries,” Rayeesi said.
He added that the summit should lead to better use of the Caspian Sea's potential for peaceful purposes while respecting environmental considerations and preventing the entry of outsiders.
Berdimuhamedow, for his part, praised Rayeesi’s efforts to improve bilateral relations between the two countries, asserting that his country will fully implement the memoranda of understanding and agreements reached between them.

The Turkmen president called the Caspian Sea “a common capital for its five littoral states”, urging all sides to “protect this God-given blessing while making better use of its potential”.
Earlier this month, Berdimuhamedow during his visit to Tehran met President Rayeesi and both sides signed a series of documents and memoranda of understanding to broaden bilateral cooperation in different fields, including politics, economy, trade, transportation, investment, new technologies, environment, sports, energy, judiciary, education, research, and tourism.

Rayeesi attended the 6th summit of the heads of the Caspian Sea littoral states in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on June 29, 2022.
In his address to the summit on Wednesday, Rayeesi urged the participants to regard the Caspian Sea as a “sea of friendship and cooperation” in order to fulfill their responsibility “toward the current and future generations”.

“The Caspian Sea is our common heritage and capital, the axis of bonds and friendship, and the source of blessings for more than the 270 million people of its littoral countries, which reflects the five countries in the mirror of a single body of water,” he said.

Source: Fars News