Russia: Too early to start Iran oil purchase
Russia has added a new twist to a convoluted story of its planned oil purchase from Iran, indicating that the arrangement would not begin for now.
Iranian officials had been cited as saying that the sales could begin this week, but Russian media have quoted the country’s energy ministry as saying that it was too early to talk about the start.
The arrangement is for Iran to sell about 500,000 bpd of crude oil to Russia and use the money for purchase of goods from that country.
Energy Minister Alexander Novak has said Russia would import no oil from Iran in practice.
"Within our memorandum on expanding trade and economic cooperation, Iran will sell us oil, and that money will go on buying goods from Russia. Our traders if possible will help to find a buyer," Interfax news agency quoted Novak as saying.
“We ourselves are a producing country. And we aren't going to buy (import) their oil," he told reporters.
Russian officials meanwhile retracted their earlier announcement that they had begun grain sales to Iran.
“We are dealing only with phytosanitary security," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted an official at Russia's food-safety regulators Rosselkhoznadzor as saying.
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