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Putin Hosts Iraqi PM in Kremlin, Hails Cooperation in OPEC+

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 10 October 2023. (EPA/Sputnik/Kremlin)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 10 October 2023. (EPA/Sputnik/Kremlin)
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Putin Hosts Iraqi PM in Kremlin, Hails Cooperation in OPEC+

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 10 October 2023. (EPA/Sputnik/Kremlin)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 10 October 2023. (EPA/Sputnik/Kremlin)

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in the Kremlin on Tuesday and praised cooperation between their countries at the OPEC+ group of top oil producers, saying it had helped to stabilize energy markets.

"We coordinate work within the framework of OPEC+ and do this very successfully with the aim of stabilizing the situation on world markets. Overall, we succeed in this, and I hope we will continue to work with you in the future," Putin told Sudani at the start of their first ever meeting.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and allied producers are known as OPEC+. Putin pays close attention to the oil and gas business, sales from which generate around a third of Russia's state budget proceeds.

Iraq is OPEC's second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed to continue with voluntary oil supply cuts of a combined 1.3 million barrels of oil per day, or more than 1% of global demand, to the year-end.

Putin's meeting with Sudani took place against the backdrop of the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza that has seen hundreds killed on both sides since the weekend.

Sudani underlined Iraq's continued support for the Palestinian cause and urged Russia to use its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to help halt Israel's strikes against the Palestinian Territories, according to a statement released by his office.

Earlier, Putin said the explosion of violence between Israel and the Palestinians showed the failure of US policy in the Middle East. The Kremlin said it was in touch with both sides.

Energy cooperation

Sudani, who is on a two-day trip to Moscow, will meet Putin again on Wednesday when the two leaders participate in an energy forum, the Kremlin said.

The Iraqi statement on Tuesday's talks in the Kremlin said Sudani and Putin had focused on enhancing bilateral relations and joint cooperation, especially in the energy sector, including the activities of Russian oil companies in Iraq.

Putin said in a televised excerpt of their talks that Russia's investments in Iraq totaled around $19 billion.

Russia's biggest oil company Rosneft has been making deals with the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq since at least 2017, pumping billions of dollars there in oil producing and shipping infrastructure.

Russia's Lukoil now produces some 480,000 barrels per day of oil at Iraq's southern West Qurna 2 oilfield, while Russia's Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of the gas giant Gazprom, is involved in the Badra oil field project in eastern Iraq and two fields in Iraqi Kurdistan.

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Arab World

Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
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Lebanon’s PM Visits Syrian President to Discuss Border Demarcation and Security

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria April 14, 2025. (Dalati & Nohra/Handout via Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam led a high-level ministerial delegation to Syria on Monday for talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the most significant diplomatic visit between the two countries since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December.

"My visit to Damascus today aims to open a new page in the history of relations between the two countries, based on mutual respect, restoring trust, good neighborliness," Salam said in a statement on X.

At the center of discussions was implementing a March 28 agreement signed in Saudi Arabia by the Syrian and Lebanese defense ministers to demarcate land and sea borders and improve coordination on border security issues, Salam said in the statement.

The Lebanese-Syrian border witnessed deadly clashes earlier this year and years of unrest in the frontier regions, which have been plagued by weapons and illicit drug smuggling through illegal crossings.

During Monday’s meeting, Salam and Sharaa agreed to form a joint ministerial committee to oversee the implementation of the border agreement, close illegal crossings and suppress smuggling activity along the border.

The border area, especially near Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley and Syria’s Qusayr region, has long been a corridor for illicit trade, arms trafficking, and the movement of fighters — including Hezbollah fighters who backed the Assad government during Syria’s 14-year civil war.

Hezbollah has been significantly weakened in its recent war with Israel and since Assad's ousting, it lost several key smuggling routes it once relied on for weapons transfers.

Lebanon also pressed Syria to provide clarity on the fate of thousands of Lebanese nationals who were forcibly disappeared or imprisoned in Syrian jails in the 1980s and 1990s, during Syria’s nearly 30-year military presence in Lebanon. Human rights groups have long documented the lack of accountability and transparency regarding these cases, with families of the missing holding regular demonstrations in Beirut demanding answers.

Syrian officials for their part raised the issue of Syrian nationals detained in Lebanese prisons, Salam said. Many of the detainees were arrested for illegal entry or alleged involvement in militant activity. Rights advocates in both countries have criticized the lack of due process in many of these cases and the poor conditions inside detention facilities.

Lebanon pledged to hand over people implicated in crimes committed by the Assad government and security forces, many of whom are believed to have fled to Lebanon after the government’s collapse, if found on Lebanese soil, a ministerial source told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to publicly comment.

In return, Lebanese officials requested the extradition of Syrians wanted in Lebanese courts for high-profile political assassinations, "most notably those involved in the bombing of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques, those convicted of assassinating President Bashir Gemayel, and other crimes for which the Assad regime is accused," Salam said.

For decades, Lebanon witnessed a long series of politically motivated assassinations targeting journalists, politicians and security officials, particularly those opposed to Syrian influence. The 2013 twin bombings of the Al-Taqwa and Al-Salam mosques in Tripoli in northern Lebanon killed more than 40 people and intensified sectarian tensions already heightened by the spillover from the Syrian war.

Syria has never officially acknowledged involvement in any of Lebanon’s political assassinations.

Salam said he also pushed for renewed cooperation on the return of Syrian refugees.

Lebanese government officials estimate the country hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, of whom about 755,000 are officially registered with the UN refugee agency, or UNHCR, making it the country with the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

While Lebanese authorities have long urged the international community to support large-scale repatriation efforts, human rights organizations have cautioned against forced returns, citing ongoing security concerns and a lack of guarantees in Syria.

Since the fall of Assad in December, an estimated 400,000 refugees have returned to Syria from neighboring countries, according to UNHCR, with about half of them coming from Lebanon, but many are hesitant to return because of the dire economic situation and fears of continuing instability in Syria.