Turkish ministry claims that Iraq should pay compensation, not vice versa

The officials of Turkey and Iraq have both claimed that their country is the winning side in an arbitration case at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and that they are to be paid compensation by the other side according to the ruling by the ICC on Thursday.

The longstanding arbitration case relates to Iraq's claim that Turkey violated a joint agreement by allowing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to export oil from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

Iraq's Ministry of Oil announced on Saturday that Iraq won the arbitration case.

Iraqi News Agency (INA) cited a statement by the ministry saying:

"The Ministry of Oil welcomed the final ruling in favor of Iraq, which was issued by the Arbitration Tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris last Thursday, March 23, 2023."

The ministry noted: "The arbitration case was filed by the Republic of Iraq against the Republic of Turkey for violating the provisions of the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline agreement signed in 1973, which stipulates that the Turkish government must comply with the instructions of the Iraqi side regarding the movement of crude oil exported from Iraq to all storage centers, discharge and final destinations."

Turkey's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources responded by a statement on Tuesday, saying that the case was actually on issues "between Iraq's central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government that is constitutionally a part of Iraq."

It said:

"Our country, despite all the instability in the region, has spent billions of dollars since 1973 to have the Iraqi-Turkish Oil Pipeline System operating, and made great efforts to contribute to the political and economic stability of the region."

It added:

"The panel of judges in the case rejected four out of the five demands of Iraq, while it accepted most of the demands of our country and ruled that Iraq should pay compensation to Turkey."

The ICC and Iraqi officials are yet to comment.