TEHRAN, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Baghdad is calling for a collaborative political effort with Tehran to examine issues regarding oil fields along the shared border, officials say.
Baghdad had complained to Tehran in the past that Iranian forces near southern oil fields were preventing Iraqis from working on oil development. Tehran has lodged similar complaints.
Mohammad Majid al-Sheik, the Iraqi envoy to Tehran, called for political negotiations to help settle lingering issues regarding the joint oil fields.
"I believe dialogue is the only way to resolve such problems," he told the semiofficial Mehr news agency in Iran.
Iran and Iraq signed two memorandums of understanding regarding the management of joint oil fields and bilateral energy issues following three days of talks in July.
Several oil fields straddle the Iranian border with Iraq. Iraq is keen on moving toward recovery in its national energy sector as it emerges from years of conflict following the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. Iran, for its part, has pushed to develop its own resources in spite of crippling economic sanctions.
Both sides have moved in part with their neighbors to connect regional energy transit networks as well.
