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Turkey
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) meeting in Ankara on June 20, 2023. Photo: Masrour Barzani/Twitter
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, discussing bilateral relations. This comes as talks over the resumption of the Region’s oil exports to Turkey remain unresolved.
PM Barzani congratulated Erdogan for his recent re-election and “discussed advancing bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region and Türkiye and the latest developments in Iraq and the region,” the prime minister said in a tweet.
The Turkish presidency reported the meeting without providing details.
PM Barzani congratulated Erdogan for his recent re-election and “discussed advancing bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region and Türkiye and the latest developments in Iraq and the region,” the prime minister said in a tweet.
The Turkish presidency reported the meeting without providing details.
President @RTErdogan received Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG) at the Presidential Complex. pic.twitter.com/DO73SElZZU
— Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye (@trpresidency) June 20, 2023
Turkey stopped the flow of Kurdistan Region’s oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline since a Paris arbitration court ruling on March 23 ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying the latter had breached a 1973 pipeline agreement and allowed the Region to begin independent oil exports in 2014, to the ire of Iraq.
Around 400,000 barrels of day were being exported by Erbil through Ankara, in addition to some 75,000 barrels of Kirkuk oil daily through the same pipeline.
Despite an agreement between Erbil and Baghdad over the exportation of the Kurdish oil, Turkey refuses to resume the flow of oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, citing alleged damages to the pipeline due to the February quakes.
A delegation from Turkey on Monday visited Iraq, discussing the matter with Kurdish and Iraqi officials. The details about the meeting have not officially been published but a member of the Iraqi parliament said that the Turkish delegation said the pipeline is ready for use.
Sabah Subhi, a member of Iraqi parliament’s oil and gas committee, told Rudaw on Monday that the energy delegation from Turkey said “after inspecting the pipeline, we have concluded that they are suitable to be used for the resumption of oil exportation as they have no issue.”
"We are discussing all technical aspects regarding the restarting of oil exports. A decision to resume flows will not happen today and more meetings are expected," an unnamed source, familiar with the case, told Reuters on Monday.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Turkey to pay a penalty of $1.5 billion in damages to Baghdad for allowing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to independently export its oil between 2014 and 2018.
However, it is not clear when the exportation of the Kurdish oil will resume.
The KRG is heavily reliant on oil revenues and an inability to sell its crude has severely impacted its economy. According to Reuters estimates, Erbil has lost over $2.2 billion since the exports were halted.
Turkey and the Kurdistan Region enjoy strong economic relations.
Updated at 9:10 pm
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