NEW DELHI, June 23 (UPI) -- India said it will hold talks with Iran and Pakistan next month to finalize details of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline.
The three nations are likely to hold their first trilateral meeting in a year to finalize details of the $7.4 billion, tri-nation gas pipeline project, an official of India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said.
"Most of the bilateral issues have been resolved ... and now a trilateral meeting of oil ministers of the three countries is mostly likely to take place in Tehran next month,'' Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan said Monday.
India has asked Iran to hold a trilateral meeting to resolve outstanding issues much before attack on the government by India's Left parties, which support the coalition government for allegedly dragging its feet on the pipeline project.
Srinivasan said transit issues with Pakistan were settled when Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora visited Islamabad in April, and there were a few issues with Iran that New Delhi wants to settle at the trilateral meeting in Tehran. India wants Iran to hand over custody of gas at the India-Pakistan border and not at the Iran-Pakistan border, as had been suggested by Tehran, to reduce the transit risk through Pakistan.
