MOSCOW, 26 March 2003 — Russia voiced fresh concern about the future of its oil interests in Iraq yesterday, but vowed not to take part in any scramble for the country’s oil riches once the war is over. “The government will defend Russia’s interests in Iraq,” said Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko.
“However, this does not mean that we are driven by lost interests and want to take part in this carve-up.”
The US administration has been at pains to stress that the conflict over Iraq has nothing to do with oil. “Iraqi oil belongs to the Iraqi people,” said US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham during a visit to Moscow earlier this month. He denied any agreements on Iraqi oil had already been drawn up.
But these assurances have left Russians unconvinced, with expectations high that the United States and Britain will maintain tight control over oil industries in an occupied post-war Iraq.
On March 18, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov insisted that Moscow wanted its existing oil contracts in Iraq honored if US forces ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. “Russia’s oil contracts were developed on a clear legal basis. They are completely legitimate in nature and therefore we expect them to be fulfilled,” he said.
Russian oil companies, which have been heavily involved in Iraq since Soviet times, have invested more than $1 billion (940 million euros) in the Iraqi oil industry since 1996 although they have been mostly unable to develop fields because of UN sanctions.
But less than a week into the war, they are already suffering its effects. Russia’s Tatneft oil producer on Saturday said it stood to lose nearly a billion dollars as it had to interrupt work and pull personnel out of Iraq.
