Sudani and Rubio “agreed on the need for Iraq to become energy independent, to quickly reopen the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline, and to honor contractual terms for U.S. companies working in Iraq to attract additional investment,” the US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a readout.
Iraq's Oil Minister had confirmed on Monday that the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, designated for the resumption of the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports through Turkey's Ceyhan port, is ready to use.
Hayyan Abdul Ghani told Iraqi state media that his ministry is engaged in “ongoing discussions and correspondence with Turkey to resume exports, and once we receive approval from Turkey, the export will resume.” He expressed hope that “exports will resume within the next two days” after the resolution of “some technical issues.”
On Tuesday as well, Sudani and Rubio touched on “the strategic partnership and the importance of Iraq’s stability and sovereignty,” and “discussed reducing Iran’s malign influence and continuing efforts to prevent ISIS from resurging and destabilizing the broader region.”
Rubio “reaffirmed” the importance of preventing terrorism from looming over Syria and hence posing a threat to the Middle East’s security, according to the readout from the US State Department spokesperson.
Earlier in the day, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office had announced that Sudani received a call from Rubio where they “discussed the overall bilateral relations” between Iraq and the US and “ways to enhance and develop them.”
“The conversation also addressed areas of coordination between Iraq and the new U.S. administration, as well as the frameworks for cooperation within the context of bilateral agreements,” the premier’s office added.
