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)
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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.



Israeli Military: 5 Soldiers Killed in Combat in South Lebanon

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Israeli Military: 5 Soldiers Killed in Combat in South Lebanon

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Five Israeli soldiers were killed and 16 others wounded in combat in southern Lebanon in recent weeks, the Israeli military said in a statement on Thursday.

Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a speech aired Wednesday that the Lebanese group is open for ceasefire negotiations only once “the enemy stops its aggression.”

His speech marked the 40-day mourning period since former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated in Beirut.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,000 people have been killed and some 13,600 wounded in Lebanon, the Health Ministry reported.