Russian oil giant Rosneft could be the key in the talks between the Iraqi government and Kurdistan for the full resumption of oil exports from the semi-autonomous region, Reuters reported on Monday, citing two industry sources involved in the talks, in what is the latest sign of Russia’s growing influence over the Middle East oil scene. After Kurdistan’s independence referendum opposed by Baghdad, Iraqi federal forces seized in October the oil fields around Kirkuk, which had been under Kurdish control since 2014. Last week, the central government in Baghdad and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil agreed to a tentative deal to restart full oil flows from Kurdistan, but little details about the deal were announced. Iraq and Kurdistan have yet to settle their dispute over oil revenue sharing, who will pay Kurdistan’s debts, and how much money Iraq will transfer to Kurdistan from its national budget. According […]