Iranian minister denies halting oil sales to European countriesApril 19, 2012 - 20:28 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Ghassemi said on Thursday, April 19 that oil sales to Germany, Greece and Spain had not been halted as reported by state media last week, according to AFP. “We are still selling oil to all of Europe except Britain and France,” Ghassemi told a press conference. Two Iranian state-owned broadcasters, Al-Alam and Press TV, last week reported that oil exports to Germany, Spain and Greece had been halted, expanding on a February decision to stop oil sales to France and Britain. The apparent moves by OPEC’s second-biggest producer came in response to new sanctions by the European Union and the United States. Ghassemi contradicted the television reports, which also claimed that exports to Italy could soon likewise be stopped but which did not identify the sources of their information. “Exports to France and Britain have stopped. For the other countries the exports continue, although there are some financial problems in certain cases,” linked to difficulties in transferring money, he said on Thursday. “We have not halted exports to Greece,” with which “there are some financial problems that are in the process of being resolved,” the minister added. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |