Kyiv, 26 February 1997 (RFE/RL) - Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Konstantin Grischenko says Kyiv is preparing an agreement with Iran to buy crude oil, which he says is one of a series of bi-lateral contracts valued at $100 million.
Grischenko is quoted yesterday by Interfax news agency as saying Ukraine's Ministry of Machine-building and a heavy-equipment maker in Ukraine have signed contracts with Iranian companies for the export of several heavy cranes to Iran, and for the joint production of a floating crane. Grischenko said other deals are planed for aircraft engines and parts, turbines for hydro-electric plants, and the possibility of building a sheet-metal plant in Iran.
The Ukraine-Iran deals involved cash and credit provisions, and, under a complicated tri-lateral barter deal, Iran pays part of Ukraine's energy debt to Turkmenistan.