Armenia and Turkmenistan are in negotiations over a natural gas deal that would involve purchasing gas from Turkmengaz and transporting it via Iran through a swap system, a senior Armenian official announced on March 26.

Artashes Tumanyan, advisor to the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, revealed details of the discussions at the Armenia -Turkmenistan Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation meeting. He confirmed that Iran agreed to the project to supply Armenia with 600 million to 1 billion cubic meters of gas annually.

“The Armenian side expressed its desire to purchase natural gas from the Turkmengaz state concern. Several phases of negotiations have taken place, during which Armenia’s expectations and all technical criteria of the project were discussed,” Tumanyan stated.

He emphasized that while technical aspects have been settled, price negotiations are still ongoing.

The talks also explored the possibility of exporting Turkmen gas via Armenia to Georgia, again using a swap system through Iran. Georgia has already agreed to the idea, Tumanyan noted.

“If this plan is realized, it could make Turkmen gas accessible to Black Sea basin countries,” he added.

In addition to gas, the negotiations include discussions on importing Turkmenistan’s petroleum products to Armenia and potentially other markets.

“The ball is in our court now. We must provide information and advisory support to Armenian companies so they can successfully operate in Turkmenistan’s business environment,” Tumanyan stated.