MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : PUTIN CLAIMS FOR KURDISH OIL !

Putin says all Russia’s energy plans in Iraqi Kurdistan are legal

MESOP NEWS  9 June 2018 – MOSCOW,— President Vladimir Putin on Thursday defended Russia’s involvement in Iraqi Kurdistan’s energy sector, saying it was in accordance with the law and was not designed to foment disagreement between the semi-autonomous region and Baghdad.

Last month Russian state oil major Rosneft signed a deal to help Kurdistan develop its gas reserves and build a gas pipeline, expanding the company’s dominance in the Iraqi region’s energy sector.On May 9, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan, Nechirvan Barzani, in Moscow.

The Kurdistan regional government official said earlier in May that Barzani’s visit to Moscow was at the request of Rosneft chief Igor Sechin. Rosneft is a major investor in Iraqi Kurdistan and controls its oil pipelines.Rosneft has agreed to invest billions of dollars in Kurdistan’s oil projects in the past two years including securing control of the region’s oil pipeline.Also Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft said in May it has been talks with Spanish oil major Repsol about joint projects controlled by Repsol in Iraq’s Kurdistan, Interfax news agency reported on Friday. www.mesop.de