Britain and France have joined the United States in welcoming a landmark agreement between the Iraqi federal government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and international oil companies to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan Region, ending a year-long deadlock.

In a joint statement released on Friday, the British Embassy in Baghdad and its Consulate in Erbil praised the pact to reopen the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline. "We welcome the historic agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq to reopen the Iraq-Turkiye pipeline," the statement read, calling it "an important step forward for stronger investment, and greater prosperity for all the people of Iraq.”

The British statement commended both Baghdad and Erbil "for their commitment to dialogue in reaching this milestone."

Echoing this sentiment, France's Ambassador to Iraq, Patrick Durel, stated that the agreement is “in the interest of all parties.”

The deal, announced this week after months of negotiations, was also hailed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday. The State Department said the United States facilitated the talks that led to the breakthrough.

The agreement resolves a dispute that began in March 2023, when oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline were suspended. The halt followed a ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, which found that Turkey had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing the KRG to export oil independently without Baghdad's consent since 2014.

KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani described the oil deal as a "great achievement" for the people of Kurdistan and Iraq in a Facebook post. He stated that it "opens the door for a grassroots solution to the entirety of our disputes and rivalries based on the constitution, through dialogue, and ongoing talks.”

Talabani added that the next objective is to "ramp up efforts to secure the entire financial entitlements and rights of the people of Kurdistan."