Armenia inaugurates Iranian pipeline

YEREVAN, Armenia, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Armenian and Russian officials attended the inaugural ceremony marking the completion of a natural gas pipeline from Iran.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Alexei Miller, chairman of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, welcomed with Iranian officials the inauguration of the second and final stage of a pipeline from Iran, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said.

Armenia will convert the natural gas into electricity for exports back to Iran. Armenian Energy Minister Armen Movsisyan said the pipeline also serves as an alternative supply source, should Russia disrupt energy transports through other routes.

Gazprom, the Russian monopoly, holds a controlling share in the Armenian state-owned ArmRosGazprom, however, overshadowing the importance of the pipeline.

Miller said during the ceremony the inauguration of the project pointed to the "high level of political cooperation between Russia and Armenia."

Movsisyan said there are plans for preliminary testing of the pipeline in the coming weeks. The pipeline will bring 81 billion cubic feet of natural gas from Iran per year, about the same amount Armenia imports from Russia via Georgia.