Russian state oil major Rosneft has agreed to invest $400 million in five oil blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan, increasing Moscow’s exposure to the semi-autonomous region despite a major spike in tensions with the central government in Baghdad. Rosneft has previously loaned Kurdistan $1.2 billion guaranteed by oil sales and is seeking to help Erbil build two major oil and gas pipelines as part of President Vladimir Putin’s drive to regain influence in the Middle East. The region plunged into a major crisis last month when Kurdistan held an independence referendum, which was immediately denounced by Baghdad and neighboring Iran and Turkey. In the build up to the referendum, only Israel supported Kurdish independence drive while Moscow stayed silent on the referendum – in […]