Taken from the BBC website:
“There is an economic as well as political aspect to the views of countries
including France and Russia. Russian firm Lukoil says it expects its
contract to develop Iraqi oilfields to be honoured while France’s
state-controlled oil company TotalFinaElf also reached similar potentially
lucrative understandings. France was also the leading supplier of goods to
Iraq under the UN’s oil-for-food programme.”
Kerching!!!