Barzani, Johnson Discuss Energy Exports to Replace Russian Oil, Gas

 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)
TT

Barzani, Johnson Discuss Energy Exports to Replace Russian Oil, Gas

 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson holding talks with Kurdish PM Masrour Barzani in London on Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (EPA)

Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani spoke with his British counterpart Boris Johnson about his desire to export energy to Europe and reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas, Reuters reported.

“Prime Minister Barzani spoke about his aspiration to export energy to Europe, and the Prime Minister (Johnson) lauded his efforts to help reduce Western reliance on Russian oil and gas,” a British government readout of a meeting between the two in London said.

In late March, Barzani told an industry conference in Dubai that Kurdistan would soon become an important source of energy.

“I am confident that Kurdistan will soon become an important source of energy for the world's growing demand,” he stressed.

He affirmed that Kurdistan has capacity now to make up for at least some of the shortfalls of oil in Europe.

“We will become a net exporter of gas to the rest of Iraq, to Turkey and Europe in the near future,” he added.



Pact for $4.5 Mln Signed to Aid 4,400 Stranded Gazans in West Bank

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 08 September 2024. (EPA)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 08 September 2024. (EPA)
TT

Pact for $4.5 Mln Signed to Aid 4,400 Stranded Gazans in West Bank

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 08 September 2024. (EPA)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, 08 September 2024. (EPA)

The Qatar Red Crescent and the UN agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) signed an agreement on Sunday, with $4.5 million from a Qatari state development fund, to aid more than 4,400 stranded Palestinian workers and patients from Gaza in the West Bank.

"Cash assistance will represent vital support for those displaced who have not been able to return to the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Strip last October," a statement from the Qatar's state news agency said.

"Thousands of Palestine refugees from Gaza remain trapped in the West Bank, trapped in this crisis situation, stranded from their loved ones and livelihoods," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said.

Since Israel's blockade of Gaza began in 2007, movement in and out of the Strip has been heavily restricted, forcing individuals to seek medical care, education, or jobs in the West Bank, while escalating violence often closes borders, trapping those in need of essential services.