Araştırma Makalesi

money to build the pipeline ... Assuming that Iran is ready to complete part of the 
pipeline (with $ 100 million), Armenia has not yet allocated any funds to finance 
the construction of the pipeline in Armenia”. (Forthcoming agreement on the 
Armenia-Iran pipeline means little. Telegram. 2004). 
The document also touched upon Russia's approach to the issue. Although 
Armenian officials told Americans that Russian energy giant Gazprom was 
interested in financing the project, Oleg Korobkov, Russia's political and economic 
adviser, said that the Russian government would not allow Gazprom to invest in 
any project that would limit Russia's influence in Armenia.

---

Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi 
İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler 
Fakültesi Dergisi 
Cankırı Karatekin University 
Journal of the Faculty of Economics 
and Administrative Sciences 
This factor was also reflected in the archival documents of other countries. One of 
such documents stated that Russia did not consider it expedient to transport Iranian 
gas to Armenia and from there to the Black Sea coast via Georgia. Even as a result 
of pressure from Russia in 2005, the parties had to agree to use gas from Iran only 
to meet Armenia's domestic needs (
Azerbaycan Dış İşleri Bakanlığı Arşivi, 2006, 
p. 45). 
The prospects of the pipeline and its transportation of Iranian gas to other countries 
were also in question. According to Wikileaks documents, a pipeline with a 
capacity of 3 billion cubic meters is being built, which is many times more than 
Armenia can use. However, opportunities for future gas sales were not appreciated 
(Forthcoming agreement on Armenia-Iran pipeline means little. Telegram, 2004). 
It is known that Georgia and Turkey had supply options from Azerbaijan, and 
foreign investors did not support the Iran-Armenia or any other pipeline, taking into 
account this factor. 
In May 2004, Armenia and Iran signed a 20-year gas and electricity treatment 
agreement (Kazemi, 1399). 
The main issue discussed during Kocharian's next visit to Iran in 2006 was the gas 
pipeline from Iran to Armenia. It should be noted that in August 2005, the 
construction of a 22.5-kilometer section of the gas pipeline (Gajaran-Mehri line) 
between Armrosgazprom and Iran's Arvandan began. According to the contract, 
construction of the gas pipeline was expected to be completed by January 2007, but 
for some technical reasons, it was completed in March. In the same year, the Iranian 
side declared its readiness to export gas to Armenia, noting that Armenia was unable 
to receive the gas, and thus placed the responsibility on the other side. This opinion 
of Mohammad Reza Lorzadeh, the Iranian curator of the construction of the gas 
pipeline, was confirmed by the then Foreign Minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian 
(Mesamed, 2015, p. 97-98). 
Finally, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and 
Robert Kocharyan attended the opening ceremony on March 14, 2007. This was 
one of the most important events in the history of Armenian-Iranian economic 
relations. The Armenian side called the project a "great success" in the field of 
"energy diplomacy" (Qalstyan, 2013). 
Some Iranian researchers wrote the gas pipeline from South Azerbaijan to Armenia 
has led to the destruction of Azerbaijani cultural monuments. The gas company had 
deliberately demolished much of the 3,000 years-old Ajdahabashi town, 40 
kilometers east of the village of Andarajan in Varzigan. An old cemetery on the line 
was also destroyed (
İftixari, 2017, p. 284). 
The final phase of the gas transmission project ended on December 3, 2008, with 
the connection of the Iranian gas pipeline to the national pipeline in the Gujarat 

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Kelbizadeh, E.
Güz/Fall 2022 
Cilt 12, 
Sayı 2, ss. 37-51 Volume 12, Issue 2, pp. 37-51 
43 
region of Armenia. The length of the section of the line along the territory of 
Armenia was 206 km. The construction of the line, which passes through rather 
unfavorable mountainous areas, cost $ 130 million (Mesamed, 2015, p. 100). At 
that time, the Minister of Energy of Armenia A. Movsesyan noted that through this 
pipeline, Armenia has the opportunity to receive 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas 
annually (Qazazyan, 2008). The Armenian side was concerned that Iranian gas was 
slightly more expensive than Russian gas. However, the Armenian government said 
it would be compensated. They stressed that Armenia will not feel the difference in 
price because the Iranians will be paid not with money, but with electricity, which 
is abundant in Armenia. 
Exports of Iranian gas to Armenia began on May 13, 2009, on the Noorduz border, 
and by the end of the month, the country had received about 8 million meters
3
of 
gas. Before the full commissioning of the pipeline, a delegation led by Seyed Reza 
Kasaizadeh, executive director of the National Iranian Gas Company, visited 
Yerevan. According to the agreements, 36 billion cubic meters of gas will be 
supplied to Armenia over the next 20 years. In the following period, there were 
plans to extend the contract for another 5 years and increase the volume of gas 
supplied to 47 billion cubic meters (Mesamed, 2015, p. 100). 
However, after a while, Armenia began to try to reduce the price of gas from Iran. 
In particular, in 2013-2014, the Armenian side insisted on paying $ 400 for 1,000 
cubic meters of gas to Iran and only $ 189 for Russia for the same amount, as well 
as for Iran to export gas to some neighboring countries at a lower price. Armenia 
also suggested that it could increase imports if gas prices were reduced. 
It should be noted that in 2013, Armenia received 1.96 billion cubic meters of 
Russian gas, and in December 2013, Russia's Gazprom and Armgazprom signed an 
agreement on the supply of Russian gas to Armenia for 2014-2018. Gazprom will 
supply 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas to Armenia annually, and prices will be 
determined following Russia's formula related to gas prices. In this situation, Russia 
supplied almost all the gas needed by Armenia and did not leave room for Iranian 
gas. At the end of 2013, Armenia rejected Iran's initiative to sell additional gas to 
the country. 
The realization of the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline has increased the desire to take the 
next steps. The issue of extending the line through Georgia to Ukraine has become 
urgent. The main issue was to involve Georgia in the project. Armenia has made 
consistent efforts in this direction. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's hasty visit 
to Georgia after Georgia announced in 2015 that it would solve its energy problem 
with alternative sources brought the issue of Iranian natural gas transportation to 
Armenia via Georgia back on the agenda of the regional media. Serzh Sargsyan's 
statement to the press after he meets with Georgian President Georgi 
Margvelashvili also drew attention to the fact that one of the main topics of 

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Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi 
İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler 
Fakültesi Dergisi 
Cankırı Karatekin University 
Journal of the Faculty of Economics 
and Administrative Sciences 
discussion between the two countries was cooperation in the field of energy and 
transport. However, Armenia's efforts did not yield the desired results. 
In 2015, Armenia's attitude towards Iran changed in the energy issue. Thus, in June 
of the same year, Armenia announced a plan to sell a 41-kilometer section of Iran's 
natural gas export pipeline to Russia's Gazprom. This decision allowed Moscow to 
take full control of the existing natural gas supply routes to Armenia 
(Kraus&Souleimanov, 2016, p. 484-464). 
During Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's visit to Armenia in 
November 2017, the issue of exporting Iranian gas to Europe via Armenia was 
discussed. These attempts were thwarted by various obstacles created by 
Armgazprom, whose shares are owned by Russian companies. Under the influence 
of Russia, Armenia withdrew in this matter. That is why Javad Zarif said in Yerevan 
that Iran does not need gas for electricity, that Armenia needs it, and that Iran is 
helping Armenia as a friend. He then outlined Iran's main intentions and said that 
Armenia was interested in using transit opportunities. When it came to transit, the 
Iranian side intended to export Iranian gas to Europe via the Armenia-Georgia-
Black Sea pipeline. The details of the opening of a free economic zone between 
Iran and Armenia were also discussed during Javad Zarif's talks in Yerevan. 
On February 20, 2019, the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor 
Consultative Council was held in Baku (
Bakıda Cənub Qaz Dəhlizi Məşvərət Şurası 
çərçivəsində nazirlərin beşinci toplantısı keçirilib, 2019, p. 1-2). The meeting was 
attended by the heads of the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for 
Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, and energy 
ministers of the United Kingdom, the United States, Turkey, Italy, Georgia, and 
other European countries. Georgia's consistency in strategic cooperation with 
Azerbaijan, as well as the de facto deprivation of Azerbaijan's support for the Iran-
Armenia gas pipeline project by European countries, led Armenia to take new steps. 
The Armenian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has issued a statement on 
its readiness to discuss the export of Iranian gas from Armenia to Georgia and from 
there to Europe via the Black Sea. This issue was also discussed during Nicol 
Pashinyan's visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, which ended on February 26-27. 
However, the fact that the diameter of the gas pipeline from Iran to Armenia was 
not at the required level created the problem of re-laying this line. That would have 
cost millions of dollars. 
The Islamic Republic of Iran was somewhat concerned about the Second Karabakh 
War in September-November 2020, the victory of Azerbaijan, the opening of 
transport and communication lines, and economic cooperation between the 
countries of the region in the signed capitulation agreement. Iranian researcher 
Akbar Kazemi wrote that earlier Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had repeatedly 
stated that Armenia could benefit from transit, energy transfer, and transport 
projects in the region if it accepts peace in Nagorno-Karabakh. Ensuring the 

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Kelbizadeh, E.
Güz/Fall 2022 
Cilt 12, 
Sayı 2, ss. 37-51 Volume 12, Issue 2, pp. 37-51 
45 
dependence of Armenia's gas supply on the Republic of Azerbaijan can be a 
guarantee for maintaining Baku's advantage in Karabakh. According to Kazemi, in 
the future, and especially with the expiration of the 20-year agreement signed 
between Iran and Armenia, the start of gas supplies to Armenia by the Republic of 
Azerbaijan may reduce or stop the import of Iranian gas by Armenia. On the other 
hand, this will fail the idea of exchanging Turkmen gas from Iran to Armenia under 
an agreement between Turkmenistan, Iran, and Armenia (Kazemi,
1399). 
Along with natural gas, the two countries also discussed cooperation in the field of 
oil sales and refining. For example, one of the main issues discussed at the meeting 
of the Armenian-Iranian intergovernmental commission on December 15, 2008, 
was the establishment of an oil refinery and oil storage facility in Armenia 
(Mesamed, 2015, p. 94). Besides, in the autumn of 2011, it was planned to begin 
construction of a $ 160 million oil pipeline from Iran to Armenia, of which 50 
percent belonged to Armenia and 50 percent to Iran.