Posted on 03/28/2008 6:31:16 PM PDT by NoLibZone
Moscow has stepped up its attempts to become Washington's main rival in the Middle East with an audacious attempt to win a large stake of Iraq's oil wealth.
Glossing over his opposition to the American-led invasion and a prolonged period of poor relations with Baghdad, President Vladimir Putin wrote to Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, this week setting out the case for Russian investment in the energy sector.
The move comes at a time when Russia is aggressively expanding its influence in the Middle East, an offensive that some say echoes the Cold War competition for patronage once waged in the region by the Soviet Union and the United States.
4,000 of our sons dead, trillions spent.
IF Russia gets oil contracts, then the pos Rev Wright is 100% correct in his view of the USA.
paging vladmir putroleum.
Agree. The spoils of war belong to the VICTORS. Iraqi oil is ours, dammit. The lucrative contracts should be going to American companies first. If the Russkies want in on the action, it should be brokered by American interests.
There is never a good reason to say God damn America.
“Glossing over his opposition to the American-led invasion and a prolonged period of poor relations with Baghdad, President Vladimir Putin wrote to Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, this week setting out the case for Russian investment in the energy sector.”
There is absolutely no way on this planet that that bastard Putin or any damn Russian will ever get a single barrel of Iraqi oil, not gonna happen, no how and no way. He, Chirac, Schroeder and the Chinese did everything in their power to maintain their corrupt relationships with Saddam and to stop the liberation of Iraq’s people. If Putin tries to wrap Saddam’s debts to Russia around the Iraqi governments necks then the Iraqi governemnt should do exactly what the Russian government did to their creditors several years ago and simply default. Eat me Vladimir you commie punk!
Whaddya’ know, Mr. KGB likes free enterprise!
...And he will, in order to achieve “balance!”
I think Russia is drilling in Anwar now...
Well heck! We’ve always known that Russia’s neighboring puppet state is where all the WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION DISAPPEARED!!!
We know because Nancy Pelosi went over to Syria to view them and chortle!!!
I believe Russia had huge investments in Iraq...even before the Gulf War. In fact, I think they lost a bundle...
Sure. FOr every year they secure Iraq they can have 1/10th of the oil.
Very telling last paragraph:
Analysts say that Russia may also be hoping for a Barack Obama victory at the American election in November. Mr Obama has promised to withdraw US troops from Iraq, a move that could increase the chances of Russia winning more oil deals in the country.
full story:
Vladimir Putin bids for Iraq oil stakes
By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow
Last Updated: 1:12am GMT 29/03/2008
Moscow has stepped up its attempts to become Washington’s main rival in the Middle East with an audacious attempt to win a large stake of Iraq’s oil wealth.
Glossing over his opposition to the American-led invasion and a prolonged period of poor relations with Baghdad, President Vladimir Putin wrote to Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, this week setting out the case for Russian investment in the energy sector.
The move comes at a time when Russia is aggressively expanding its influence in the Middle East, an offensive that some say echoes the Cold War competition for patronage once waged in the region by the Soviet Union and the United States.
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In the past two years, Russia has signed significant arms and energy deals from the Levant to the Maghreb, causing jitters in Washington and concern across Europe.
On Tuesday Mr Putin, who steps down to become prime minister in May, signed a preliminary nuclear energy deal with Egypt that could also see Cairo become a major recipient of Russian arms.
Any oil deal with Iraq would significantly boost Russia’s ambitions to regain its lost superpower status.
Russia, the world’s largest energy exporter, has long hungered for a slice of Iraq’s oil reserves, the third largest on earth. Until now, however, that wealth has always been tantalisingly out of reach.
Iraq’s government has, until recently, frequently voiced its irritation at Russia’s support for Saddam Hussein’s regime, which rewarded Moscow with plum contracts under the corruption-riddled Oil-for-Food programme and signed off on unrealised but lucrative oilfield development deals.
Mr Putin believes that such differences are in the past. His letter, the Kremlin’s highest-level intervention in years of quiet negotiations, marks the culmination of a charm offensive that saw Russia wipe off 90 per cent of Iraq’s £6.5 billion Soviet-era debt last month.
Russia also opened a consulate in the northern city of Irbil last November and plans to open another in Basra imminently, marking the near restoration of full diplomatic relations with Iraq.
Boasting of Russia’s experience in modernising energy infrastructure, Mr Putin wrote: “I hope that the positive approach of Russian business to the development of co-operation will receive proper support from the Iraqi leadership.”
Mr Putin also dispatched Vagit Alekperov, the billionaire director of Russia’s second largest oil company Lukoil, to Baghdad this week in the hope of resurrecting a Saddam-era deal to develop the world’s largest oil field at West Qurna.
Lukoil was awarded a contract to develop the field, which is estimated to contain reserves of at least six billion barrels of crude, in 1997 but the project was stalled by United Nations sanctions on Iraq.
It is unclear what Lukoil’s chances are of reviving the deal. Iraqi government officials, including the energy minister Hussein al-Shahristani, have declared the contract void although Lukoil has been told it would be allowed to bid for West Qurna if the Iraqi parliament finally passes a long-delayed oil law this spring.
The legislation, which governs foreign investment rules, has been hamstrung by bickering over how to share oil revenues among Iraq’s Shia, Sunni Arab and Kurdish groups.
Lukoil, which is an independent company despite having close links to the Kremlin, has threatened to seek international arbitration if the contract is not respected.
But a Lukoil spokesman said that he was confident a settlement would be reached. “We are very hopeful that the contract will stand,” he said. “Everything will become clear after the new oil law is passed.”
Even if Lukoil loses out - and Iraqi sources say that West Qurna is most likely to be awarded to Chevron or Total - the Kremlin believes there will be other lucrative investment opportunities in Iraq.
Analysts say that Russia may also be hoping for a Barack Obama victory at the American election in November. Mr Obama has promised to withdraw US troops from Iraq, a move that could increase the chances of Russia winning more oil deals in the country.
Bumo
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