Middle East
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani. Photos: AA/Sudani's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Friday received a phone call from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, discussing Iraq’s plan to develop transportation routes from its southern port to its northern border. The phone call came two days after Erdogan said he has no issue with resuming exports of Kurdish oil through Turkey.
According to the statement from Sudani’s office, Erdogan said Ankara is ready to participate in the construction of the Development Road, which is a multi-billion dollar road and rail project stretching from Iraq’s south to the border with Turkey in the north.
Sudani emphasized “Iraq’s keenness to build regional and international partnerships that contribute to the development of the national economy of friendly countries,” adding that they are working on protecting security and stability in the region.
Iraq’s relationship with Turkey has had its ups and downs in recent years.
Last year in July, nine Iraqi tourists were killed in a bombardment in Duhok, blamed on the Turkish army. While Ankara denied involvement, Baghdad took the issue to the UN Security Council.
In March of this year, an international arbitration court ruled in favor of Iraq against Turkey saying that Ankara breached a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing the Kurdistan Region to begin independent oil exports in 2014. 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.
The Kurdistan Region oil exports have stopped since then, and despite several meetings between Turkish, Iraqi, and Kurdish officials, the exports of around 470,000 barrels of oil a day from fields in the Kurdistan Region and Kirkuk are still halted. On Wednesday, Erdogan said the suspension is because of problems between Erbil and Baghdad, and Turkey has no issue with the exports.
Sudani and Erdogan last met in March in Ankara, where they discussed bilateral relations in various fields.
Turkey is working to amend its relations with countries in the Middle East.
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