Sajjadi and Papikyan met and held talks to explore the avenues for energy swap between Tehran and Yerevan.
The officials conferred on a host of issues. including implementation of North-South Freeway. which would link the European countries to Iran and East Asian countries. as well as the transfer of energy to Armenia by completing the third line of the electricity network.
The Armenian minister pointed to his upcoming visit to Iran to attend the Conference on Tehran Urban Water Management. expressing hope that he would hold talks with the Iranian experts to find ways to promote economic cooperation.
Last month. Armenian Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan blasted the US sanctions on Iran and pressures on other states to stop cooperation with the country. saying that his country cannot halt buying gas from Tehran.
The comments came as Armenia heavily depends on Iran for energy and trade as the Southern neighbor has served as one of Armenia’s two conduits to the outside world since borders to Azerbaijan and Turkey were closed.
I informed American partners that our economy is suffering losses due to the sanctions against Iran and that we cannot stop buying Iranian gas. Mirzoyan wrote on his Facebook page following a speech in Washington.
Late in June. Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Homayoun Haeri and Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan. in a meeting in the capital city of the Caucasian country. exchanged views on ways to increase energy cooperation between Tehran and Yerevan. particularly extending the power grid between the two neighboring countries.