Northern Oil Company last year.

Tatneft, the primary oil producer in Tatarstan, is also developing links with Iran and the Sudan. It has signed a service contract with Iran and is thinking of supplying Iran with technology. Chechen administration head Akhmed Kadyrov also recently visited Iraq. Kadyrov said that Chechnya also intends to open a representative office in Baghdad and take part in the UN's oil-for-food program.

Also, Slavneft, the Russian-Belarusian state-controlled oil company, has signed a contract with Iraq's Oil Ministry to develop the Luhais oil field in southern Iraq, according to TASS on 29 October. Slavneft plans to start Luhais operations in the second half of 2002. The contract has yet to be approved by the UN Security Council. Under the terms of the contract, Slavneft will drillindirectly support Jund al-Islam militia by proving them with access to financial revenue."

In a meeting with representatives from the Halabcha, Tawila, and Biyara areas, Talabani expressed the determination of the PUK to uphold the rule of law and the overall jurisdiction of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), reported the "Kurdistan Observer" also on 20 October.

Talabani disclosed plans of the Jund al-Islam clique to assassinate prominent members of the Kurdish leadership, and named names. He also pointed out that the Kurdish Islamic Movement, led by Mollah Abdul-Aziz, is a coalition partner in the KRG with two ministerial portfolios and other posts.

A stronger position was taken by another member of the leadership of the PUK, Mele Bakhtyar. He said that "if Jund al-Islam believes that the battle for Mount Shinirwe