ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey could get up to 1 million barrels of oil day under an energy cooperation plan discussed on Tuesday with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Ankara.
Al-Zaidi was in Turkey for talks on security, trade, energy, transportation and water management, as well as joint infrastructure projects between the two neighbors.
“Our goal now is to sign a comprehensive energy cooperation agreement as
soon as possible that will benefit both sides,” Erdogan said during a joint press statement with al-Zaidi, noting that a previous agreement between the two countries for the Kirkuk-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline had expired.
Erdogan said Turkey's state-owned petroleum company, TPAO, would acquire a 15% stake in BP Energy Company of Kirkuk Limited under a separate share‑transfer agreement reached Tuesday.
Al-Zaidi, who emerged as a consensus candidate in Iraq after months of deadlock over the premiership following last year’s parliamentary elections, was visiting Ankara in the wake of trips to Washington and Tehran.
Following al-Zaidi’s talks with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, U.S. companies signed agreements and partnerships worth around $60 billion with Iraq, including deals intended to create alternative routes for shipping oil out of the Persian Gulf.
One project under consideration is a pipeline that would connect southern Iraq’s Basra to western Iraq’s Haditha and from there to the Ceyhan port in Turkey and the port of Baniyas on Syria’s coast.
The meeting in Ankara came as Turkey is engaged in talks to end a decades-long conflict with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, whose fighters are largely based in northern Iraq. Last year, the PKK announced it was laying down arms and disbanding as part of the efforts.
Turkey is scheduled to enact legislation to help advance the peace effort, which is expected to include a limited amnesty that could allow some militants’ return to Turkey.
“We are in close dialogue with our Iraqi brothers to ensure that our process of a terror‑free Turkey and our vision of a terror‑free region become a reality,” Erdogan said. “God willing, we will permanently remove this issue — which has imposed heavy costs on both countries — from our agenda.”
The PKK has waged an armed insurgency since 1984, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives. It’s designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
Al-Zaidi is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia on Thursday at a time of heightened tensions after the kingdom alleged that Iran-backed Iraqi militias launched drone attacks against it.
Al-Zaidi has pledged to disarm non-state armed groups in Iraq by the end of September, a deadline that is likely challenging to meet, particularly since some of the most powerful militias have said they will not lay down their weapons.
On Monday, al-Zaidi ordered security agencies to investigate the alleged drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Iraqi military said in a statement, adding that Iraq is committed to “preventing Iraqi territory from being used as a route or launching point for any attack targeting brotherly or friendly countries.”
The militias have denied any role in the attack. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed groups, in a statement described the Saudi claims as “fabrications” and an “attempt to justify their inability to respond to the painful Yemeni strikes that have targeted the heart of their infrastructure,” implying that the attacks were carried out by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The militias added that “any foolish Saudi action will be met with a harsh response that will leave them biting their fingers in regret.”
