KRG seeks to be a true partner in chalking Iraq's oil policy: spokesperson
Shafaq News/ The Kurdistan region seeks to be a true partner in chalking Iraq's oil policies, spokesperson Jutiar Adel said in his weekly press conference on Thursday.
Adel refuted media reports claiming that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is bound to a 50-year oil deal with Ankara.
"The region's government has responded to those claims on many previous occasions. We do not sell our oil to Turkey; we have an agreement to transit it via pipelines in its territory," he said.
"There is no such a deal in the oil Market," he explained, "who knows what would happen to the prices in five decades? Can anyone guarantee that the Kurdistan region has enough oil to honor such a long-term agreement?"
"The KRG was forced into a deal with Turkey under pressure from Baghdad that cut the region's share in the federal budget in 2014," he added.
Adel also dismissed allegations about Baghdad rejecting 75% of Erbil's proposals to address their differences as unfounded. "On the contrary, some negotiations are progressing well toward a conclusive agreement, like the oil and gas bill."
"They did not reject our proposals, nor did we. There is a good agreement between the two sides," he concluded, "we want to be a true partner in drawing the country's oil policy. We are confident that we might play a crucial role here."
