Iran, S. Korea Discuss Resumption of Oil Trade
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian delegation comprising oil industry and banking experts held meetings with South Korean authorities and companies in a visit to Seoul to weigh plans for the restart of sale of oil and gas condensates to the East Asian country, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Asked about the media reports on an Iranian delegation’s visit to South Korea, Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Wednesday, “An expert delegation from the Islamic Republic of Iran consisting of banking and oil experts held talks in Seoul this week with South Korean officials and companies.”
He said the talks were aimed at looking into the possibility of resuming exports of Iranian oil and gas condensate to South Korea.
Khatibzadeh added that the visit happened in line with Iran’s policy to develop relations with Asian countries in a balanced way and after the deputy foreign ministers of Iran and South Korea met in Vienna, the Foreign Ministry reported.
He reiterated that the Iranian side used this opportunity, in consultation with the South Korean officials, to underline the need to lift the illegal freezing of Iran's assets in South Korea.
The spokesman noted that the results of the expert meeting could serve as a test of South Korea's seriousness and determination to resolve the two countries' differences and restore the relations to normal, including by selling oil and gas condensate to South Korea and investment by Korean companies in Iran’s economic projects.
Khatibzadeh stressed that for this reason, Iran will carefully follow the results of these negotiations and will take those results into account while regulating relations between Tehran and Seoul.
