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Global Insider: Russia-Iraq Relations
June 14 2011
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Iraq in May to discuss investments in Iraqi energy projects, among other issues. In an email interview, Marat Terterov, director and principal founder of the European Geopolitical Forum in Brussels, discussed Russia-Iraq relations.
WPR: What is the recent history of Iraq-Russia relations?
Marat Terterov: Russia, along with France, was one of Iraq's closer allies during the 1990s, when Baghdad was heavily isolated and subject to U.N. sanctions. Moscow frequently lent diplomatic support to Baghdad during this period, pushing for the lifting of the oil embargo against Iraq and condemning occasional U.S. and U.K. airstrikes against Iraqi targets. Russian diplomatic overtures toward Iraq at times worked for the benefit of the Gulf region during this period, as was evident in 1994 when Moscow persuaded Baghdad to publicly recognize Kuwait's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Moscow's goodwill carried the price tag of Russian companies winning lucrative commercial contracts in Iraq. Contracts in Iraq's energy sector -- as well as a host of less transparent business arrangements on the fringes of the oil embargo and the arms business -- were the main prize craved by Russian contractors. The massive oil field at West Qurna-II was arguably the main trophy. Experts estimated that Russian companies stood to make profits in the range of $70 billion in the oil concessions they were seeking to develop in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's rule. However all of this changed drastically with the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
WPR: What are the main areas of cooperation between the two countries?
Terterov: Moscow's key priority in post-Saddam Iraq has been to win back the main energy contracts it enjoyed during the Saddam period, namely the West Qurna-II oil field -- a project that became extremely uncertain following the formation of the new, initially pro-American government in Baghdad. By 2005, however, after Moscow had agreed to write off much of Iraq's Soviet-era debt, it appeared that West Qurna-II would be handed back to Russia, with the oil company Lukoil set to be the main benefactor. West Qurna-II contains an estimated 11.3 billion barrels of oil, and Lukoil's current presence in Iraq is underscored by regular visits to the country by Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov.
In the wider context, relations between Moscow and the post-Saddam Iraqi governments have been normalizing. In April 2009, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with both Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow and pushed for greater levels of -- particularly commercial -- cooperation between Iraq and Russia. Cooperation in the sphere of power-construction projects and engineering construction was widely discussed. Such cooperation seems to be expanding at present, given that in May, the Russian foreign minister visited Baghdad to promote talks between the countries on oil and arms supplies, as well as the participation of Russian companies in various projects in Iraq, including agriculture, water management, transport, exploration and other spheres.
WPR: What are the wider regional implications of Russian involvement in Iraq?
Terterov: Russia has been increasingly active in the Middle East in recent years, and further involvement in Iraq will generally be well received by the Arabs, who have traditionally viewed Moscow as a counterweight to the U.S. This attitude is also largely shared by the Gulf Arab monarchies, which have improved their relations with Russia during the past five years or so.
While some hawkish American policymakers and analysts may want to "ring the alarm bells" over Moscow's so-called neo-Soviet foreign policy in the region, Russia's presence in Iraq does not pose an immediate threat to Western interests. Indeed, the Russian presence in Iraq's oil sector, together with that of Turkey, could make the Iraqi energy sector more competitive and ensure that it will benefit from greater investment. Moscow's involvement in Iraq is broadly consistent with Russian foreign policy objectives in the past five to eight years, which has focused on extending Russian national interests in various regions of the world -- including former allied countries -- and lobbying for an expansion of Russian commercial opportunities in those regions.
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June 14 2011
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Iraq in May to discuss investments in Iraqi energy projects, among other issues. In an email interview, Marat Terterov, director and principal founder of the European Geopolitical Forum in Brussels, discussed Russia-Iraq relations.
WPR: What is the recent history of Iraq-Russia relations?
Marat Terterov: Russia, along with France, was one of Iraq's closer allies during the 1990s, when Baghdad was heavily isolated and subject to U.N. sanctions. Moscow frequently lent diplomatic support to Baghdad during this period, pushing for the lifting of the oil embargo against Iraq and condemning occasional U.S. and U.K. airstrikes against Iraqi targets. Russian diplomatic overtures toward Iraq at times worked for the benefit of the Gulf region during this period, as was evident in 1994 when Moscow persuaded Baghdad to publicly recognize Kuwait's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Moscow's goodwill carried the price tag of Russian companies winning lucrative commercial contracts in Iraq. Contracts in Iraq's energy sector -- as well as a host of less transparent business arrangements on the fringes of the oil embargo and the arms business -- were the main prize craved by Russian contractors. The massive oil field at West Qurna-II was arguably the main trophy. Experts estimated that Russian companies stood to make profits in the range of $70 billion in the oil concessions they were seeking to develop in Iraq during Saddam Hussein's rule. However all of this changed drastically with the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
WPR: What are the main areas of cooperation between the two countries?
Terterov: Moscow's key priority in post-Saddam Iraq has been to win back the main energy contracts it enjoyed during the Saddam period, namely the West Qurna-II oil field -- a project that became extremely uncertain following the formation of the new, initially pro-American government in Baghdad. By 2005, however, after Moscow had agreed to write off much of Iraq's Soviet-era debt, it appeared that West Qurna-II would be handed back to Russia, with the oil company Lukoil set to be the main benefactor. West Qurna-II contains an estimated 11.3 billion barrels of oil, and Lukoil's current presence in Iraq is underscored by regular visits to the country by Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov.
In the wider context, relations between Moscow and the post-Saddam Iraqi governments have been normalizing. In April 2009, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with both Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow and pushed for greater levels of -- particularly commercial -- cooperation between Iraq and Russia. Cooperation in the sphere of power-construction projects and engineering construction was widely discussed. Such cooperation seems to be expanding at present, given that in May, the Russian foreign minister visited Baghdad to promote talks between the countries on oil and arms supplies, as well as the participation of Russian companies in various projects in Iraq, including agriculture, water management, transport, exploration and other spheres.
WPR: What are the wider regional implications of Russian involvement in Iraq?
Terterov: Russia has been increasingly active in the Middle East in recent years, and further involvement in Iraq will generally be well received by the Arabs, who have traditionally viewed Moscow as a counterweight to the U.S. This attitude is also largely shared by the Gulf Arab monarchies, which have improved their relations with Russia during the past five years or so.
While some hawkish American policymakers and analysts may want to "ring the alarm bells" over Moscow's so-called neo-Soviet foreign policy in the region, Russia's presence in Iraq does not pose an immediate threat to Western interests. Indeed, the Russian presence in Iraq's oil sector, together with that of Turkey, could make the Iraqi energy sector more competitive and ensure that it will benefit from greater investment. Moscow's involvement in Iraq is broadly consistent with Russian foreign policy objectives in the past five to eight years, which has focused on extending Russian national interests in various regions of the world -- including former allied countries -- and lobbying for an expansion of Russian commercial opportunities in those regions.
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