Electricity Ministry denies the start of gas contract with Turkmenistan

INA-  BAGHDAD


The Ministry of Electricity denied, on Sunday, the entry into force of the gas contract with Turkmenistan, and indicated that the contract had not started and no financial amounts had been paid.
 
The media office of the Minister of Electricity stated, in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), that "the Ministry of Electricity denies what some media outlets have reported of false allegations and claims about the gas agreement with Turkmenistan," noting that "the contract with Turkmenistan has not yet entered into force, as negotiations are still ongoing to determine the intermediary company that will ensure the uninterrupted arrival of Turkmen gas to Iraq. Accordingly, the allegations about Iraq paying daily amounts to Turkmenistan are completely false."
 
The ministry confirmed, according to the statement, that "no quantities of Turkmen gas have been released to Iraq, and no sums of money have been paid so far, which completely refutes the allegations that two million dollars are being paid daily, in an attempt to mislead local and international public opinion."
 
 It explained that "the issue of the current gas cut-off to Iraq is related to Iranian gas that was previously contracted for in a separate agreement, not Turkmen gas," adding that "the ministry is following a wise policy in managing this file, based on diversifying fuel sources to ensure national energy security and independence, and preserving public money and preventing its waste."
 
The ministry pointed out that it "reserves the legal right to sue the media that deliberately publishes false information aimed at disrupting the steps of the Iraqi government aimed at diversifying the energy sources needed to operate our power stations, and not relying on a single source," calling on the media to "be accurate in transmitting information and refer to official sources before publishing any news that may harm the public interest."