Rubio, Sudani Agree on Resumption of Kurdish Oil Exports in Cordial Exchange
Rubio and Sudani agreed on the need for Iraq “to quickly reopen the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline,” as the State Department summarized their discussion.
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shi’a al-Sudani spoke on Tuesday. It was the first discussion between the two officials and to judge by both the U.S. and Iraqi summaries of the discussion, it went relatively well.
Resuming Kurdish Oil Exports
Their conversation involved a range of issues, including the need to resume Kurdish oil exports through the Iraq-Turkish pipeline.
On Friday, Reuters reported that the Trump administration was pressing Baghdad to allow the resumption of the export of oil from the Kurdistan Region, as part of its maximum pressure campaign on Iran.
Read More: U.S. Pressures Iraq to Resume Kurdish Oil Exports Amid Sanctions on Iran
On Monday, Iraq’s Oil Minister announced that oil exports from the Kurdistan Region would begin within two days.
Read More: Iraq set to resume Kurdistan Region oil exports within two days, says Iraqi Oil Minister
Nonetheless, Rubio raised the issue in his discussion with Sudani. As State Department Spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, summarized their discussion, she explained that they had agreed on the need for Iraq “to quickly reopen the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline” through which Kurdish oil is shipped to Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.
Other Issues in the Conversation
“The Secretary and Prime Minister Sudani discussed the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership and the importance of Iraq’s stability and sovereignty,” Bruce also said.
They also considered the two major threats to Iraq’s security and independence, as they discussed “reducing Iran’s malign influence and continuing efforts to prevent ISIS from resurging and destabilizing the broader region,” she added.
They also “agreed on the need for Iraq to become energy independent,” she said. The unstated meaning was that Iraq needed to end its import of Iranian gas.
They also discussed the importance of Baghdad honoring “contractual terms for U.S. companies working in Iraq to attract additional investment.”
The Iraqi read-out of the discussion was similar in tone to the U.S. read-out, but it left out details. Thus, as the Prime Minister’s Media Office summarized the conversation, it said that they had “discussed the overall bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States and ways to enhance and develop them.”
“The conversation also addressed areas of coordination between Iraq and the new U.S. administration,” it continued, along with “joint efforts across various fields,” as they “agreed to enhance communication and deepen cooperation.”
In addition, the U.S. read-out explained that Rubio had “reaffirmed the importance of Syria not becoming a haven for terrorism or posing a threat to its neighbors,” while it concluded, saying, “The Secretary and Prime Minister committed to continuing to consult on issues in the region and to advance the U.S.-Iraq security partnership.”
