An agreement was signed between Iran and Azerbaijan over the Turkmenistan–Azerbaijan gas swap deal, during a meeting on 28 November.

This means that the gas exported from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan will be transferred through Iran.

The agreement was signed after a meeting between the Iranian president and his Azeri counterpart, Ilham Aliyev in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on the sidelines of the 15th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit.

Iran and Azerbaijan’s ministers of oil were present after the meeting.

According to the agreement, Turkmenistan will export one and a half to 2 billion cubic meters of gas to the Republic of Azerbaijan through the territory of Iran.

The agreement also included Turkmenistan’s sale of five to six million cubic meters of gas a day to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Iran will withdraw its required gas consumption in five northern provinces of the country from the right to transfer this gas.

After the signing of the deal, Raisi spoke to the reporters.

“Our country’s relationship with the Republic of Azerbaijan is a cultural and heartfelt relationship and has a long history. These relations should not be harmed in the slightest,” he said.

He described his meeting with Aliyev as “good,” saying that the points of interest of the two countries were raised.

“The agreement signed today is a gas agreement between Iran, the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan, which will aim at developing our relations between the three countries.”

Raisi then noted that more steps should be taken in this regard.

“The parties are willing to take steps to develop relations in the economic, trade, transit, and cultural fields,” the Iranian president added.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met with his Azeri counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov.

The two reportedly discussed boosting bilateral ties, particularly in the field of trade and economy.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi demanded the revival of the Turkmenistan–Iran gas deal on 27 November in a meeting with his Turkmen counterpart, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, asking for the removal of obstacles from the exportation of gas from Turkmenistan.

Iran had complained about the low quality of the gas exported from Turkmenistan, as well as the high price.

However, the gas swap deal enables Iran to choose the gas it wants.