Iraq's new prime minister visits Turkey for talks on pipeline and security

ANKARA, Turkey -- ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Iraq’s new prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, arrived in Turkey on Tuesday for talks that were expected to include the construction of a pipeline to Turkey aimed at reducing the exposure of Iraq's oil exports to tensions in the Gulf region.Al-Zaidi’s meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials will also focus on security, trade, energy, transportation and water management, Turkish officials said. The Iraqi prime minister's office said they will discuss “joint infrastructure projects in a way that serves the interests of the two neighboring countries.”Al-Zaidi, who emerged as a consensus candidate in Iraq after months of deadlock over the premiership following last year’s parliamentary elections, is visiting Ankara on the heel of trips to Washington and Tehran.Following al-Zaidi’s talks with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, U.S. companies signed roughly $60 billion in agreements and partnerships with the Iraqi government, including deals intended to create alternative routes for shipping oil out of the Persian Gulf. One project under consideration is a pipeline that would connect southern Iraq’s Basra to western ...