Pakistan, Iran and India are close to concluding their talks regarding the Iranian gas pipeline which will cross Pakistan on its way to India.
The three parties are likely to sign the deal on the $7 billion project in June, in defiance of U.S. pressure, reported the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
Washington is accusing Tehran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program, and has urged its two allies – Pakistan and India – to seek energy from other nations.
“Pakistan supports the project totally and because of increasing needs for energy in Pakistan, we request the project be accelerated,” Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf told his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad during a telephone conversation on Saturday evening.
The two leaders also discussed some of the latest regional and international developments, and the bilateral relations between their countries.
“We always recognize Iran’s right to use peaceful nuclear energy and support it,” said Musharraf.
Ahmadi Nejad told Musharraf he appreciated Pakistan’s support for Iran’s nuclear technology development and said it indicates “the friendly and brotherly relations between the two nations and governments.”