New Delhi: India on Monday said that it will go ahead with the proposed gas pipeline project with Iran ignoring US’ objections.
"Talks are going on. When I was in Iran, I had mentioned categorically that we are interested in the pipeline and negotiations on the pricing are going on," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told a TV channel.
His response came when asked to comment on US objections to the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline.
US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, during a visit to New Delhi last week, had said Washington was opposed to India having the pipeline project with Iran as it was against his country's law.
The basis for Bodman's warning was well known - Iran's support for terror groups, and its nuclear programme.
Earlier, a former Indian ambassador to Iran, M K Bhadrakumar said that US objections have everything to do with its own geopolitical and commercial interests.
The technical details of the Iran India pipeline project are known and understood. The financial inputs are also involved.
All that needs to be worked out is what price India pays for gas when it flows across the border.
India has maintained that feasibility aspects like pricing and commercial viability will be the only factors guiding the trilateral project that is estimated to be of the tune of US $7.4 billion.
(With agency inputs)
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