Iraq
Elissa Slotkin is serving as the U.S. representative from Michigan's 7th congressional district since 2019. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A member of the United States House of Representatives on Friday urged Erbil and Baghdad to move forward on their agreement on exporting Kurdistan Region’s oil.
"My understanding is there is a negotiation that’s happened between Prime Minister Barzani in Kurdistan and Prime Minister Sudani in Baghdad and they need to move that agreement forward. It can’t just sit like a piece of paper," Elissa Slotkin, US Representative from Michigan, told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda, pointing out the importance of relying on the Iraqi constitution to resolve the issues.
The Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on April 4 signed an agreement to resume sending the Region’s oil to global markets through Turkey more than ten days after the exports were halted following a ruling from a Paris-based arbitration court. Nearly a month after the deal was inked, oil is still not flowing.
Slotkin revealed she is working with the State Department and US diplomats in Iraq to engage on the pending issues and use their influence in Baghdad.
“There is an Iraqi constitution that says there need to be revenue sharing,” she said, adding “I was there when the constitution was written and adopted, and we need to have revenue sharing fair and equitable.”
Before entering politics, Slotkin did three tours in Iraq as a CIA militia expert.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled on March 23 that by allowing the KRG to export oil through its pipeline, Ankara had breached a 1973 pipeline agreement that obliges the Turkish government to abide by instructions issued by Iraq regarding the transport of crude oil exported from Iraq.
After the ruling, Turkey informed Iraqi authorities that it would not allow the KRG’s oil to be loaded onto ships at Ceyhan port without permission from Baghdad and oil firms in the Kurdistan Region halted production or reduced output.
The KRG had been exporting some 400,000 barrels of crude per day through Turkey. The Iraqi government exported about 75,000 barrels of Kirkuk oil daily through the same pipeline.
Under the agreement with Baghdad, KRG oil revenues will be deposited into an account at the Iraqi Central Bank and the Iraqi government will have the right to access audits.
Iraq’s government spokesperson told Rudaw on Monday that only some technicalities remain to be finalised before the resumption of oil exports.
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