US working with Iraq, Turkey, Kurds on reopening ITP pipeline
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US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt announced on Wednesday that the US was continuously involved in talks to reopen the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline.
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An employee turns a valve at a natural gas field in Iraq on 21 April 2020. (AFP)
The US said is collaborating with Iraqi, Turkish, and Kurdistan's region authorities to reopen the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline, US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt announced on Wednesday.
Pyatt called the reopening of the pipeline “an energy asset that the United States very much wishes to see brought back online."
According to Pyatt, the ITP pipeline is vital to the sustainability of the Iraqi Kurdistan region's energy economy and the crude oil it provides to global, primarily European, markets.
The secretary of state remarked that the US supports cooperation between Iraq and global oil businesses.
Senior Turkish and Iraqi officials hold security talks in Baghdad
Senior Turkish and Iraqi officials met in Baghdad on March 14 to discuss security issues, including potential measures against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq, an Iraqi foreign ministry statement announced after the meeting.
The statement revealed that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein and top security officials.
Turkey greeted the Iraqi National Security Council's decision to label the PKK as a "banned organization in Iraq", the statement added.
It further said that they talked over preparations for a planned visit by President Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad, which is set to happen "after the holy month of Ramadan."
'Fight against terrorism'
Earlier on March 14, a Turkish Defense Ministry official informed reporters that Turkish and Iraqi officials would talk about "developing a common understanding on the fight against terrorism."
The Defense Ministry official added that officials from the Turkish army met with Iraqi counterparts over the weekend to go over "measures to increase the security of the civilians" in the region where Turkey is running operations.
Turkey carried out air operations on January 13, destroying 29 targets affiliated with the PKK in northern Iraq and Syria, according to the Turkish National Defense Ministry
A statement from the Turkish National Defense Ministry said air operations were conducted against targets in Iraq's Metina, Hakurk, Gara, and Qandil regions, as well as in northern Syria.
This came one day after a PKK attack in northern Iraq that claimed the lives of nine Turkish soldiers.
The PKK has been designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
