Germany is in talks with Iraq on the possibility of importing natural gas, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, amid Berlin's efforts to try hard to diversify its energy sources to compensate for declining supplies of Russian fossil fuels, Reuters reported.

“We also talked about possible gas deliveries to Germany and agreed to stay in close contact,” Scholz told journalists in a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Berlin.

Baghdad has offered German companies the opportunity to invest in Iraqi natural gas, al-Sudani said, adding that Iraq wants to supply gas through a pipeline via Turkey to Europe.

Iraq continues to burn some of the gas it produces along with crude oil because it does not have the equipment to process it into fuel for local consumption or export.

Germany, which used to receive 55 percent of its gas imports from Russia, has sought to diversify its LNG imports after deals with Qatar and the United States to avoid heavy reliance on a few exporters.