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Iranian president in India talks Iranian leader upbeat on pipeline
(about 4 hours later)
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has met Indian leaders on a stopover at the end of his tour of South Asia. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has given assurances to India over the construction of a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline during talks in Delhi.
The two sides were due to discuss a long-delayed $7.5bn pipeline plan to transport gas to Pakistan and India. He told the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, that all obstacles holding up the long-delayed project would be resolved within 45 days.
The 2,600-km (1,620-mile) pipeline is seen as crucial for energy-hungry India. Pakistan says it has cleared the way with Iran to finalise an agreement. A deal has been stalled by disputes over transit fees and security issues.
Analysts say the deal could contribute to security as Iran, Pakistan and India benefit more by mutual co-operation. The pipeline will transport gas from Iran to India through Pakistan, and is seen as crucial to Indian energy needs.
Analysts say the pipeline could contribute to regional security as Iran, Pakistan and India would depend on each other more and benefit from mutual co-operation.
Hold-upsHold-ups
Mr Ahmadinejad is on a whirlwind tour of South Asia - he has already visited Pakistan and Sri Lanka since Monday. After talks with Mr Singh at the end of his tour of South Asia, Mr Ahmadinejad said he was optimistic about a deal on the 2,600-km (1,620-mile) pipeline, which would initially transport 60m cubic metres of gas (2.2bn cubic feet) a day.
Mr Ahmadinejad is spending just a few hours in India "The two sides are very close to each other. We will finalise the gas pipeline soon," he told reporters in Delhi.
He met Indian PM Manmohan Singh during his five-hour visit to the Indian capital, Delhi. This pipeline is not just a commercial deal - it is a part of confidence-building measures Shivshankar MenonIndian foreign secretary
"Energy issues are on the agenda for talks," a ministry official was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying earlier in the day. Mr Ahmadinejad said a firm proposal on the pipeline would be formulated in the next 45 days and then put before the leaders of the three countries involved.
The gas pipeline would cross Pakistan to reach India and is expected to earn Pakistan millions of dollars in transit fees. The Indian government said the project was feasible, but needed to be financially viable with assured supplies.
It has been held up by disputes over how much those fees would be and security-related issues. India has boycotted trilateral meetings since mid-2007, saying it wanted to first resolve the issues of transit fees and transportation tariffs with Pakistan, its long-standing regional rival.
The United States accuses Iran of trying to build nuclear weapons and has opposed the pipeline project as it feels it will weaken its efforts to isolate Tehran. "This pipeline is not just a commercial deal. It is a part of confidence-building measures," Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said on Tuesday.
India recently rebuffed a call by the United States for it to ask Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment programme. The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says the visit has also raised the interest of the US, with Washington suggesting that India put pressure on Iran over its controversial uranium enrichment programme - a suggestion soundly rejected by Delhi.
It said relations between the two spanned centuries, and they were capable of handling them with due care. Although India has twice voted against Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it says that it supports Tehran's right to fulfil a peaceful nuclear programme within the constraints of international law.
India also said relations between it and Iran spanned centuries, and that they were capable of handling them with due care.