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US welcomes oil deal between Iraqi Kurdistan and Baghdad

US Vice President Joe Biden welcomed an agreement between Iraq's central government and its northern Kurdistan region over the management of oil exports, a step forward in a feud that has threatened the unity of Iraq.

 

In a speech in Istanbul on Saturday that touched on energy issues from Russia to Cyprus, Biden said he was encouraged to see a recent interim agreement between Baghdad and Arbil on managing exports and revenue sharing.

 

After years of friction, the two sides last week struck a deal in which Kurds will give half of their overall oil shipments to the federal government and Baghdad will pay overdue civil servants' salaries in the region.

 

Oil has been at the heart of a feud between the Arab-led government in Baghdad and the ethnic Kurdish-run northern enclave, with disputes over oilfields, territory and crude revenues shared between the two regions.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.22.14, 16:41