The move comes amid mounting tensions between Iraq and Turkey over a mooted pipeline that could begin pumping oil exports from the autonomous Kurdistan region as early as next month, infuriating Baghdad, which insists all energy sales should be via the central government.
"Since yesterday [Nov. 30], Baghdad has stopped private planes coming from Turkey," Talar Mustafa, head of Arbil airport in the capital of the Kurdish region, told AFP.
"Not normal flights, just private jets. It is an order from the ministry of transportation." Mustafa said airport authorities were not informed of the reasoning.
Two Turkish officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that a Turkish private jet flying to the Kurdish region was turned back late Nov. 30.
The decision comes after a similar move by Baghdad a year ago, barring Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz's plane from landing in Arbil, with Iraqi officials saying the flight had not obtained the necessary permits.
It comes on the eve of a four-day energy conference due to be held in the regional capital, which Yildiz was again expected to attend, but Kurdish officials said the move would not affect the event.
"We're used to these petty, petulant actions from Baghdad," a Kurdish regional government (KRG) official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They really should grow up." "It won't affect the conference." Officials at Iraq's civil aviation authority and transport ministry did not respond to multiple AFP requests for comment.
The latest move by Baghdad comes after Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told reporters in Ankara that oil exports from the region to Turkey could start next month.
Negotiations are ongoing: Ankara
Kurdish authorities are seeking ways of selling their oil on international markets outside the control of Baghdad, but a lingering dispute with the central government has paralysed development of new oil and gas projects in the region.
Turkish officials have refrained from publicly confirming that any deals have been finalised, saying that negotiations with both Baghdad and Arbil are continuing.
“During the visit of the Iraqi KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to Ankara on Nov. 27, we have agreed on some commercial deals on energy in compliance with the Iraqi constitution. But the process on this subject has not finished as yet,” A Foreign Ministry statement said.
“Our wish and preference is to undertake this matter within a tripartite framework and to bring it to a conclusion that will benefit our mutual interests and welfare,” the statement added.
Ankara is however also keen on repairing ties with Baghdad, which have been strained for several years, and has offered to mediate in the oil dispute between Kurdish authorities and the Iraqi central government.
On Nov. 27, simultaneously with Barzani's Ankara visit, Turkey’s Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek visited his counterpart Osama al-Nujaifi at the Iraqi capital.
Just weeks ago, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also visited Baghdad, where he met with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Foreign Minister Hosyhar Zebari along with other high-level Iraqi officials.
hurriyetdailynews.com
30/11/13
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- Iraq denies closing airspace to Turkish planes....
"There is no decision to close the Iraqi airspace to Turkish planes," al-Bandar told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.
Taner Yildiz, Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister, is scheduled to visit Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region to attend a conference on oil and natural gas.
"We have an agreement to allow in the private plane of the Turkish energy minister during his visit to Iraq tomorrow," al-Bandar said.
Karim al-Nouri, spokesman of the Iraqi transportation ministry, also denied reports about the closure of Iraqi airspace to Turkish planes.
"No decision has been taken by the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority to close the airspace to Turkish planes," he said.
He went on to say that a Turkish plane took off from Baghdad on Saturday.
Media reports had earlier claimed that Iraqi authorities have closed the airspace of northern Iraqi to planes of Turkish officials.
The reports alleged that Iraqi officials insisted that Turkish planes must first land in Baghdad before going to Erbil.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=124040
30/11/13
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Turkish FM on Irbil, Iran, Armenia and readmission agreement.....
ReplyDeleteForeign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was on Haberturk TV on Friday evening to answer questions about the current topics on the agenda including the oil export deal with Irbil, EU-Turkey readmission agreement, relations with Armenia, and Turkey's foreign policy.
In response to a question about how much further the Ankara-Irbil oil export deal could go without creating any concerns on the part of the central Iraqi government, Davutoglu said that he hoped that Baghdad and Irbil would make legal regulations regarding sharing of energy and resources without any problems being reflected on Turkey.
Stressing that Turkey's biggest challenge was its requirement for more energy resources for its growing economy, Davutoglu said: "If you are planning Turkey's future, and your goal is to be among the top 10 largest economies of the world, then you need to know both your strengths and weaknesses. Our biggest strength is manpower, and our weakness is energy resources. To maximize manpower, we need visa liberalization so that people can travel freely to anywhere in the world. And to increase energy resources, you would obviously want all energy lines to lead to Turkey".............http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/260228--turkish-fm-on-irbil-iran-armenia-and-readmission-agreement
7/12/13
Oil flow from Turkey-N. Iraq oil pipeline to begin soon....
ReplyDeleteTests for the northern Iraqi oil has been completed up to Ceyhan (Turkey's southern coastal district of the Mediterranean Adana province) and the oil flow will begin soon, said Turkish Energy and Natural Sources Minister Taner Yildiz on Monday.
Remarking on the latest developments in the new oil pipeline between northern Iraq and Turkey that has been under construction, Yildiz answered questions over the current situation in testing efforts for the oil flow, when the oil flow to begin.
"Both the corrosion and test efforts for the northern Iraqi oil was completed at first step up to Silopi. Now it has been completed to Ceyhan and the oil flow will begin soon," he noted.
The minister stated that he welcomed the remarks of Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani appreciating recent agreements between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdish administration on oil and natural gas exports to Turkey, provided that the central government in Baghdad is not marginalized in any such agreements.
Yildiz also expressed hope for the oil pipeline and the oil transfer to serve for the benefit of Iraq so as to enable a normalization, development in the country and increase in Iraq's national revenue.
In his early December visit to Iraq, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani reached a host of agreements and decided on setting up the commission in the aftermath of a major energy deal between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdish administration.
The historic deal involves the transfer of oil and natural gas via pipelines from Iraq to Turkey and Europe and is considered a springboard for the Iraqi Kurdish side to become an important energy supplier, while providing Ankara with an opportunity to diversify its foreign dependent energy portfolio.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/266053--oil-flow-from-turkey-n-iraq-oil-pipeline-to-begin-soon
23/12/13
Oil supplies from Iraqi Kurdistan via Turkey to begin towards end of January....
ReplyDeleteLONDON, January 09. /ITAR-TASS/. Oil deliveries from Iraqi Kurdistan to world markets via Turkey will start towards the end of this month, Reuters news agency reported on Thursday.
A Kurdistan autonomy government official said the first consignment of oil, amounting to about two million barrels, would be supplied via a recently inaugurated pipeline to the oil terminal on the Mediterranean coast in the Turkish city of Ceyhan for subsequent export.
According to Iraqi Kurdistan authorities’ estimates, the monthly oil export from the autonomy will grow up to six million barrels by March this year and to about 12 million barrels of oil towards the end of the year.
In November 2013, Turkish Premier Tayyip Erdogan and Nechrivan Barzani, Head of Government of the Iraqi Kurdistan, signed an agreement, under which the autonomy gains the possibility of delivering oil and natural gas to world markets via Turkey.
The oil supplies are a point at issue in the acute dispute between the central government of Iraq and the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. Baghdad's view is that only the central government has the right to monitor oil export and sign contracts. However, the Kurds believe that in the supply of oil they have a right to act independently, without contradicting Iraq's constitution.
http://en.itar-tass.com/economy/713956
9/1/14