| Submit your comments on this article |
| Axis of Evil |
| Exec says U.S. Blackmailing Russian Firms In Iraq |
| 2002-12-11 |
| The director of a state-owned oil company with interests in Iraq on Tuesday accused U.S. companies of attempting to blackmail Russian oil majors into financing Iraqi opposition parties in return for contract guarantees from a post-Saddam Hussein regime. "The Americans have tried to discuss the issue, including at a level of [direct negotiations] with companies," said Nikolai Tokarev, head of Zarubezhneft, which has been operating in Iraq since the 1960s. "They even proposed we should finance the Iraqi opposition in return for being able to continue work there," he said in an interview published in Vremya Novostei on Tuesday. Works for me. The statement reflected growing concern among Russian officials and businessmen that a possible U.S. military operation in Iraq could damage Moscow's economic interests in the country. Russia fears that a new regime in Iraq might renege on Baghdad's obligations to pay off its $7 billion Soviet-era debt to Moscow and award lucrative oil contracts to U.S. and other Western companies, snubbing Russian firms. Tokarev said he had turned down such deals as "dishonorable." Some other Russian companies, however, have accepted similar U.S. proposals and have become involved in a "dirty game," he said, without providing further details. He was unavailable for further comment Tuesday. According to Iraqi officials, Russian oil companies account for 35 percent to 40 percent of Iraqi oil exported under the UN oil-for-food program. Tokarev said the rigid, UN-prescribed pricing policy had made business difficult. International sanctions against Iraq have prevented Zarubezhneft and other Russian companies from fulfilling a 1997 contract to develop the vast West Qurna oil field. Tokarev said that his company, together with another state oil company, Rosneft, was discussing a contract to develop oil fields near the port of Basra in southern Iraq. Don't want anybody else's fingers in their rice bowl. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 [snort] And this is different from what they would do in the same situation how? "Hypocrisy? Yeah, we've got that." |
| Posted by: Tripartite 2002-12-11 12:56:53 |