Kurds suffer as Iraq, Turkey fail to restart oil flow ahead of Turkish FM's Baghdad visit
As Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to meet in Baghdad with Iraqi leaders, disrupted oil flows, water and cooperation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party are expected to top the agenda.
Iraq and Turkey failed to agree on the resumption of oil exports via the southern Mediterranean port of Ceyhan as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan makes his first trip to Baghdad since assuming the post.
News of the deadlock followed talks in Ankara Monday between Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani and his Turkish counterpart, Alparslan Bayraktar.
Fidan arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday and held talks with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein. He is expected to meet Wednesday with Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammed Shia al-Sudani, President Abul Latif Rashid and Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi as well as leaders of the Turkmen community. He is due to head to Erbil the following day and meet with the Kurdistan Regional Government's Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and President Nechirvan Barzani. Oil, water and cooperation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are expected to top the agenda.
Ankara halted the flow on March 25 after the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ruled in favor of Iraq in an arbitration case lodged by Baghdad on the grounds that Turkey facilitated the “illegal” export of oil by the KRG between 2014 and 2018.
