Russia: Expand Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline To China

May 8 (EIRNS) -- Abubakir Shomuzov, the head of the Tehran office of Gazprom, the Russian gas company, said May 7 that he advocates extending the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline to China, reported the Indian daily newspaper, The Hindu, today. Russian funding and technological cooperation is being discussed for the IPI project. Speaking in Dubai, Shomuzov said that Gazprom is "willing to cooperate with these two states and the IPI pipeline is one of the giant projects in which that Russia can play its role." Shomuzov noted Russian Prime Minister Mikhail E. Fradkov's visit to Pakistan in April, when the IPI was discussed. "This pipeline can even go as far as to China because this region has a big population and is a big market," Shomuzov also said.

Gholam-Hossein Nozari, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company, was quoted by Iranian news agency ISNA saying that "Gazprom is a capable and big company and if it enters the peace pipeline, it will help with the progress and speed up the operation."