Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Iraq's foreign minister, at the end of his visit to Russia which began last 25 February, during a press conference, said that Iraq is working to restore the pipeline that connects Kirkuk to the Syrian port of Baniyas.
The head of Iraqi diplomacy said that "All that is in the interests of Iraq and other states and that contributes to the strengthening of our economy is acceptable". For this reason, added Al Jaafari, the Iraqi authorities "are working on the issue" of the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline.
The conduct, severely damaged during the 2003-2011 war in Iraq, was built in the 1950s and transported up to 300 thousand barrels of crude oil per day from Kirkuk oil fields to Homs refineries in Syria and from there to Baniyas port .