The Turkish presidency said on Twitter that Erdogan met with Barzani at the presidential palace in Ankara.
“Various issues, including security in the region, should be discussed. But oil exports will be a top priority,” said a senior Kurdish official close to the KRG prime minister’s office.
Turkey stopped exports of 450,000 barrels per day from northern Iraq, via the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline, on March 25, after the International Chamber of Commerce’s arbitral tribunal issued its ruling in an arbitration case.
Another Kurdish official based in Baghdad said that Barzani’s visit aims to find ways to expedite the resumption of those exports, which are a vital source of cash for the Kurdistan region.
Turkey wishes to negotiate the amount of compensation that the arbitration decision has ordered it to pay, as well as seeking clarification of other open arbitration cases.
Reuters estimates found that the KRG lost more than $2.2 billion due to the 87-day pipeline shutdown, based on an export of 375,000 barrels per day, and historic price cuts by the KRG against Brent crude prices.
A technical delegation concerned with energy from Turkey met with Iraqi oil officials on Monday to discuss the issue of exports.
Iraqi oil officials told Reuters that further talks would be needed in order to resume oil exports from northern Iraq.
The office of the Prime Minister of the Government of Iraqi Kurdistan said in a statement that Barzani is also scheduled to meet with Turkey’s foreign minister and senior government officials to “explore ways to strengthen relations between the Kurdistan region and Turkey.”
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