Tasnim � Iran would resume oil swap with Russia, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan as soon as the countries supply the required crude, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said.

Speaking to reporters after a ceremony to inaugurate a 170-km pipeline from the northern city of Damghan in Semnan Province to Neka in Mazandaran Province on Tuesday, Zanganeh said resuming the oil swap is one of the top issues pursued by the oil ministry since the current administration took office in 2013.

Since the swap has been on hold for several years, its resumption requires time and cooperation on the part of other oil supplier countries, he noted.

�Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Russia should supply the crude for the swap in the north (of Iran),� the minister said, adding that the Iranian side is fully ready to resume the deal.

Under oil swap deals, which started in 1997, Iran received crude oil from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan through its North Oil Terminal on the Caspian coast and delivered an equivalent volume to other countries in the Persian Gulf. The procedure was suspended in 2010, on the grounds that the income from the swap was not sufficient for Iran.

Oil swaps, which stand for the exchange of raw materials to facilitate logistics operations, are expected to allow the Islamic Republic to optimize oil deliveries to refineries, located in the northern part of the country.