(Adds quotes, background) By Mark John BRUSSELS, April 16 (Reuters) - Iraq wants expanded energy cooperation with the European Union, its prime minister said on Wednesday, on a visit to Brussels EU officials hope will help ease the bloc's reliance on Russian gas. "We've come here to pave the way for new relations with the EU based on cooperation and friendship," Nuri al-Maliki told reporters on his first visit to Brussels. "We do hope this meeting will result in new steps of cooperation between Iraq and EU countries, especially regarding contributing to developing our oil and gas sectors." He said Iraq welcomed EU companies and experts. EU officials said ahead of al-Maliki's visit they hoped to reach an outline agreement with Iraq to import Iraqi gas via a planned pipeline across Turkey. The 27-nation bloc is keen to diversify its gas supplies away from Russia, which provides one-quarter of the bloc's needs, and to find additional suppliers for its planned Nabucco gas pipeline across Turkey to central Europe. Details of enhanced energy cooperation were to be discussed at an early morning meeting between EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, who is accompanying al-Maliki. He will also discuss trade ties, the security situation, EU assistance for rebuilding Iraq's administration and training security forces with top EU and NATO officials. "RECONCILIATION A SUCCESS" Speaking at a committee of the European Parliament, Al-Maliki hailed Iraq's policy of national reconciliation and a new amnesty law as successes. He also said there would be no sudden withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq. "A sudden retreat would lead to some confusion," he said through a translator. "This will not take place. there will be an organised retreat." EU officials say connecting fields in western Iraq to a planned Arab Gas Pipeline would enable Baghdad to supply gas to Nabucco, which is due to come on line in 2013. The European Commission said on Monday it secured a guarantee last week of 10 billion cubic metres a year of natural gas from Turkmenistan from 2009 as part of the drive to ensure sufficient supplies to make Nabucco commercially viable. However, earlier this week, Russia's Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizov expressed scepticism about the EU's ability to find secure enough gas for Nabucco. "The figure of 10 billion cubic meters is not enough," he told reporters. "The only way to fill Nabucco is to rely on Iranian gas, but then it's up to the West to make up its mind how to deal with Iran -- either bomb Iran or buy its gas." Al-Maliki told the parliamentary committee Iraq was "close to agreeing a final version" of a long-awaited oil and gas law, delay over which has held back investment in the sector. Iraq's deputy parliament speaker, Khaled al-Attiya, said on Tuesday the government and Kurdish officials would resume talks soon to try to iron out disputes holding the law up. An oil ministry official said on Wednesday the main reason for the delay was because of contracts signed by the Kurdish regional authorities. (Addtional reporting by Paul Taylor; Writing by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Michael Winfrey)
Women wait to receive foodstuff distributed by a private humanitarian aid organization to more than 400 widows who lost their husbands in the violence in Iraq, in Baghdad April 15, 2008. ...
