PM Barzani, Turkish deputy FM discuss resuming oil exports
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Friday received Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz to discuss stalled oil exports and other regional developments.
'The meeting discussed the development of bilateral relations in various fields and the latest developments in the general situation in Iraq and the region,' read a statement from Barzani posted on Facebook.
'They also discussed the importance of resuming the export of oil from the Kurdistan Region through the port of Ceyhan,' the statement added.
Exports of Kurdish oil through Turkey's Ceyhan port were halted in March 2023 following a Paris-based arbitration court ruling that Ankara had violated a 1973 agreement by allowing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to export oil independently of Baghdad.
Despite months of talks between Erbil, Baghdad, and the oil producers, the exports have yet to resume. Iraq's Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani said Wednesday that a delegation from the KRG's natural resources ministry will visit Baghdad on Saturday for further discussions. Prior to the halt, the Kurdistan Region was exporting about 400,000 barrels of oil per day through the pipeline, in addition to 75,000 barrels per day from Kirkuk.
Barzani and Yilmaz also discussed the Development Road Project, Iraq's strategic plan to link the Persian Gulf to Turkey and Europe through highways and railways crossing the country. The KRG has raised concerns over the project, unhappy that the main corridor bypasses the Kurdistan Region and could undermine its control over cross-border trade and customs. In late March, the Region's transport ministry denied reaching any agreement with the federal government on the project.
The two also exchanged views on the peace process in Turkey and reiterated their support for its success.
On Wednesday, during the Sulaimani Forum, Barzani expressed hope that renewed talks between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) would lead to peace.
The initiative began in October 2024 after Devlet Bahceli, leader of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, symbolically extended a hand to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, suggesting he be allowed to address parliament and dissolve the group.
In February, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) released a letter from Ocalan in which he called on the PKK to disarm and disband. The message raised hopes for an end to the four-decade conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives.
Ankara has demanded the PKK's immediate disarmament and surrender, while the group insists on Ocalan's release to oversee a congress that would finalize its dissolution.
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City of Swaida Pre-Massacre Population: 125,000 Post-Massacre Population: 50,000 Situation: Infrastructure destroyed, markets stormed, shops looted, homes burned, civilians killed, public executions, women and children kidnapped, elderly abused/shaved, hospitals attacked, services unavailable, security/food threatened, most residents fled east/south. 2. Village of Walga Pre-Massacre Population: 4,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 3. Village of Reema Hazem Pre-Massacre Population: 3,500 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 4. Village of Al-Mazraa Pre-Massacre Population: 10,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 5. Village of Al-Tayr Pre-Massacre Population: 1,500 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 6. Village of Sama Al-Hunaidat Pre-Massacre Population: 1,800 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 7. Village of Samma Pre-Massacre Population: 2,500 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 8. Village of Al-Dour Pre-Massacre Population: 4,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 9. Village of Taara Pre-Massacre Population: 2,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 10. Village of Qarrasa Pre-Massacre Population: 1,500 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 11. Village of Al-Duwairi Pre-Massacre Population: 2,100 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 12. Village of Najran Pre-Massacre Population: 8,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 13. Samma Al-Hunaidat Pre-Massacre Population: 1,800 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 14. Town of Thaala Pre-Massacre Population: 10,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 15. Village of Al-Dara Pre-Massacre Population: 1,950 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Churches burned and vandalized. 16. Village of Al-Aslehah Pre-Massacre Population: 1,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Churches burned and vandalized. 17. Village of Kanaker Pre-Massacre Population: 1,100 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 18. Village of Ara Pre-Massacre Population: 11,000 Post-Massacre Population: 6,000 Situation: Mortar/missile shelling, under assessment. 19. Village of Al-Mujaymir Pre-Massacre Population: 5,000 Post-Massacre Population: 2,000 Situation: Mortar/missile shelling, under assessment. 20. Village of Al-Majdal Pre-Massacre Population: 6,500 Post-Massacre Population: Unknown Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 21. Village of Kafr Al-Lahf Pre-Massacre Population: 4,000 Post-Massacre Population: Unknown Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 22. Village of Reema Al-Fakhour Pre-Massacre Population: Unknown Post-Massacre Population: Unknown Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 23. Village of Salakhed Pre-Massacre Population: 2,500 Post-Massacre Population: Unknown Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 24. Majadel, Smayd, Al-Kharsa Pre-Massacre Population: 20,000 Post-Massacre Population: Unknown Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 25. City of Shahba Pre-Massacre Population: 20,000 Post-Massacre Population: Unknown Situation: Mortar/missile shelling, homes/property destroyed, militant presence, declared devastated. 26. Village of Umm Al-Zeitoun Pre-Massacre Population: 4,000 Post-Massacre Population: 1,000 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 27. Village of Al-Sweimrah Pre-Massacre Population: 1,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 28. Village of Al-Metouneh Pre-Massacre Population: 3,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 29. Village of Al-Hayyat Pre-Massacre Population: 2,800 Post-Massacre Population: 1,800 Situation: Partial displacement. The gas station, village entrances and public facilities were vandalized. Currently it's not with HTS. 30. Village of Al-Heett Pre-Massacre Population: 2,450 Post-Massacre Population: 1,200 Situation: Partial displacement, most of the population is Christian. Currently it is not under HTS control. 31. Village of Al-Khalidiyah Pre-Massacre Population: 3,500 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 32. Village of Lahtha Pre-Massacre Population: 8,900 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 33. Village of Radhimah Al-Liwaa Pre-Massacre Population: 3,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 34. Village of Al-Soura Al-Kabir Pre-Massacre Population: 2,800 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 35. Village of Hazm Pre-Massacre Population: 1,700 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 36. Village of Khalkhala Pre-Massacre Population: 2,700 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 37. Village of Dhakir Pre-Massacre Population: 1,200 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 38. Village of Al-Soura Al-Sagheer Pre-Massacre Population: 1,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 39. Town of Areeqa Pre-Massacre Population: 9,000 Post-Massacre Population: 5,000 Situation: Mortar/missile shelling, under assessment. 40. Village of Dama Pre-Massacre Population: 4,000 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 41. Village of Lebbain Pre-Massacre Population: 3,500 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. 42. Village of Haraan Pre-Massacre Population: 2,800 Post-Massacre Population: 0 Situation: Homes burned, public executions, kidnappings, places of worship/shrines burned, declared devastated. Total Pre-Massacre Population: 295,100 Total Post-Massacre Population: 67,000 Total Number Of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs): 228,100
