logo
Turkey submits draft proposal to Iraq to renew, expand energy agreement

Turkey submits draft proposal to Iraq to renew, expand energy agreement

Reuters5 days ago
ANKARA, July 21 (Reuters) - Turkey has submitted a draft proposal to Iraq to renew and expand an energy agreement between the two countries to include cooperation in oil, gas, petrochemicals and electricity, an Iraqi oil ministry official told the state news agency late on Monday.
The statement came after Ankara announced the end of a decades-old agreement covering the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline.
"The Ministry of Oil is in the process of reviewing the draft agreement sent by the Turkish side and negotiating with them regarding it to reach a formula that serves the interests of Iraq and Turkey", the Iraqi oil ministry official added.
The 1.6 million barrel-per-day Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline has been offline since 2023 after an arbitration court ruled Ankara should pay $1.5 billion in damages for unauthorised Iraqi exports between 2014 and 2018. Turkey is appealing the ruling.
Turkey still wants to revive the oil pipeline with Iraq, a senior Turkish official told Reuters earlier on Monday.
In a decision published in its Official Gazette on Monday, Turkey said the existing deal dating back to the 1970s - the Turkey-Iraq Crude Oil Pipeline Agreement - and all subsequent protocols or memorandums would be halted from July 27, 2026.
Iraq and Turkey have been working to resume oil flows from the pipeline. Ankara said in late 2023 that the pipeline was ready to receive Iraq's oil but talks between Baghdad, Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government and independent oil producers were not able to reach an agreement on terms.
The Turkish official said the pipeline had the potential to become a "highly active and strategic pipeline for the region".
The person added that Turkey had invested heavily in its maintenance, and noted its importance for regional projects like the Development Road - a planned trade route involving Turkey and Iraq.
"A new and vibrant phase for the Iraq-Turkey pipeline will benefit both countries and the region as a whole," the Turkish official said, without giving details of what Ankara wanted the new agreement to include.
Turkey sees the Development Road initiative - a high-speed road and rail link, running from Iraq's port city of Basrah on the Gulf to the Turkish border and later to Europe - as an opportunity to extend the pipeline further south. Baghdad allocated initial funding for the project in 2023.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Recognising Palestine would reward Oct 7 murderers, Starmer told
Recognising Palestine would reward Oct 7 murderers, Starmer told

Telegraph

time15 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Recognising Palestine would reward Oct 7 murderers, Starmer told

Sir Keir Starmer will 'reward' the Oct 7 terrorists if he recognises a Palestinian state, Israel's ambassador to the UK has said. Tzipi Hotovely has described proposals for recognising a Palestine state as 'nothing less than a reward for terrorism'. The ambassador, writing for The Telegraph, said that 'Palestinian recognition would be a reward for hostage-taking, for rape, for murder, for burning innocent people alive'. Ms Hotovely added that recognition would also be a 'significant departure from the policy of the US administration ', risking a damaging rift with the White House. She said: 'Terrorists are watching intently and the signal that they are receiving is that their violent tactics yield positive results for them in the UK and the West.' Her intervention came as Jewish faith leaders in Britain told the Prime Minister that recognition 'cannot improve the situation' and would be 'gesture politics'. Jewish faith leaders at the Board of Deputies, Britain's largest Jewish community organisation, have also told Sir Keir not to recognise a Palestinian state. Phil Rosenberg, the board's president, said that Hamas 'will claim recognition of Palestine as a vindication of their murderous rampages and hostage-taking'. Mr Rosenberg, writing for The Telegraph, said 'unilateral recognition cannot be a substitute for the difficult negotiations and concessions needed to realise an enduring peace'. Sir Keir has come under increasing pressure from his own party to recognise a Palestinian state. This week, 131 Labour MPs penned a letter urging their leader to follow Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and announce a plan to recognise a state. Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, and Anas Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour, have also told the Prime Minister to act immediately. The Labour-led foreign affairs committee also recommended immediate recognition this week, describing it as 'inalienable right'. Cabinet ministers have also reportedly urged the Prime Minister to act on the issue. The setting up of a new Left-wing party under Jeremy Corbyn, pledging to support 'a free and independent Palestine', is also likely to put electoral pressure on Sir Keir. On Saturday, the Prime Minister rejected calls from his party and Mr Macron to recognise a Palestinian state within the next few months. He said that while he was 'unequivocal' about recognising a Palestinian state as part of a peace process, this should come after a ceasefire and the return of Israeli hostages. Sir Keir said recognition 'must be part of a wider plan which ultimately results in a two-state solution and lasting security for Palestinians and Israelis'. The issue is set to dominate Donald Trump's four-day visit to the UK, with Sir Keir due to meet the US president at the latter's Turnberry golf course in Scotland on Monday. He is attempting to finalise a UK-US trade deal with Mr Trump, the general terms of which were set out in May. There are fears within the Government that a disagreement with the president over Palestine recognition, which Mr Trump opposes, could derail the trade deal. Ms Hotovely described recognition as 'an act of grandstanding and virtue-signalling' and accused Mr Macron of 'Napoleonic cosplaying'. She claimed that after any recognition by Western powers, 'a Palestinian state would have all the ingredients of a would-be failed state'.

PETER HITCHENS: Only two views are allowed on Gaza... and both are simple-minded rubbish
PETER HITCHENS: Only two views are allowed on Gaza... and both are simple-minded rubbish

Daily Mail​

time15 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

PETER HITCHENS: Only two views are allowed on Gaza... and both are simple-minded rubbish

There are two permitted views on the horrors in Gaza, and I don't hold either of them. What should I do? I simplify only slightly. The first view, popular among 'Right-wing' media, is that the hideous Hamas massacre of October 2023, and the seizure of hostages, justifies Israel 's actions – and that if you oppose them you must therefore be a Hamas sympathiser and an anti-Semite. And quite possibly a terrorist.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store