Neither Turkey nor Iraq emerged victorious from Paris legal case, reveals report

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Neither Iraq nor Turkey are considered victors from the recent ruling issued by the Paris-based International Court of Arbitration, despite Iraq’s immediate claim of triumph, revealed a report on Tuesday.

In a lawsuit filed at the International Chamber of Commerce’s court in 2014, Baghdad claimed that Turkey had breached the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (TIP) Agreement by allowing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to independently export its oil.

Iraq was officially informed last Thursday that it had won a claim against Turkey with regard to its claim that Ankara breached a clause in the agreement by allowing the Kurdish oil to be loaded in tankers.

Commending the court ruling, Baghdad claimed early victory.

“It is a hollow victory. Even the court agrees in its judgment that neither party could be considered successful,” the Middle East Eye reported, citing an anonymous Western source.

Ankara had been accused by Baghdad of a breach of contract under five categories; storage, transportation, exclusive use, access claim, and loading.

“They [the Iraqi side] were only able to win one claim: loading,” a Western source told MEE. Therefore, the other four out of five categories did not go in Iraq’s favor. 

Also, the Court awarded nearly $600 million to Turkey for winning the counterclaims over a set of issues from the low capacity at the pipeline and unpaid transportation fees, the source added.

“They can celebrate all they want, but I would definitely fire their lawyers for a botched job,” the source added.

At Baghdad’s request, Turkey halted the oil export to its Ceyhan port on the Mediterranean on Saturday. The KRG was exporting nearly 400,000 bpd while Baghdad was sending 70,000 barrels a day through the pipeline.

The Kurdish government is currently in talks with Baghdad to find a new mechanism to resume export following the court ruling.