More of Saddam's tricks: The US must not delay liberating Iraq, as it is apparent that China, Russia, Germany and France are prepared to put their national oil interests ahead of the suffering of Iraqi people, and are willing to do business with the butcher of Bagdad.
Iraq holding projects worth $40 billion for Russians
Dr Abbas Khalaf Kunfud.
(1/22/2003 - OGI: Moscow) Iraq has set aside some US$40 billion in cooperative projects that it wants to contract Russian companies for and is awaiting approval from the Russian government, according to Dr Abbas Khalaf Kunfud, Iraqi ambassador to Russia. He told the Russian news agency Interfax this week that the deals are ready to be contracted and may be signed at any time.
"We expect word from Moscow soon," Khalaf said, adding, "The ball is now in the court of the Russian government."
Khalaf said that he and other Iraqi diplomats have held extensive discussions with various Russian agencies to move the cooperation program along.
Just last week, a high level Russian delegation to Baghdad returned to Moscow with a half-dozen contracts for exploring and developing Iraqi oilfields and gasfields throughout the country, from the giant fields in the south near Basrah to the Western Desert.
"Other governments have tried to prevent these contracts being signed with Russian companies," Khalaf said, "but we prefer to cooperate with Russian partners." He added that one of the contracts completed last week with the Russian company Zarubezhneft was strongly opposed by the French, the Nahr Umr Field development project, which was originally expected to be a part of TotalFinaElf's agreement in which it is developing the nearby giant Majnoon Field. |
