Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Ankara wants to buy more natural gas from Iran and that the two sides have discussed pricing issues.

Speaking on August 12 alongside visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Ankara, Cavusoglu also said the neighboring countries should resolve future disputes over gas prices without arbitration.

Turkey imports 10 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas from Iran annually, or about a fifth of its 50 bcm annual needs.

However, the trade has been bedeviled by disagreements over the price Turkey should pay.

Turkey took Tehran to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) court of arbitration in Switzerland in January 2012 after Tehran rejected Ankara's complaint that the price was too high.

The ICC in February this year ordered Iran to discount the price of natural gas it exports to Turkey by 10-15 percent, backdated to 2011.