Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Al-Maliki in Turkey - insists Iraq isn't supporting PKK
Regional
(AP) - Kurdish guerrillas killed a Turkish lieutenant in the southeast on Tuesday, as the Iraqi prime minister arrived for a visit likely to be dominated by Turkish warnings to either crack down on rebel bases in northern Iraq or face a possible incursion. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki insisted that his government was not supporting the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
"Our visit is an effort to develop bilateral relations and cooperation with Turkey, especially regarding the security file, which is the most important one," he told The Associated Press in an interview on his plane before landing in Ankara. "The PKK is an illegal terrorist organization, and the Turks are accusing them of terrorism. We don't allow for any terrorist organization on our soil," he said. "We want good relations with our neighbor, Turkey, and we should not interfere in each other's internal affairs."
Al-Maliki was greeted at the airport in Ankara by Turkey's Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen. The Iraqi delegation included Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and some Iraqi legislators. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected to warn al-Maliki against allowing the PKK rebels to shelter in Iraq. Turkey has threatened to stage a cross-border offensive to eradicate the Kurdish rebel bases if Iraq or the United States do not act against the rebels.
Al-Maliki will likely seek to dissuade Turkey from launching an incursion. Turkey's patience with the decades-old rebel conflict has been running thin amid escalated fighting that has left around 80 Turkish soldiers dead so far this year. On Tuesday, Turkish generals were gathering for the funeral of a noncommissioned officer, also killed by rebels.
"Our visit is an effort to develop bilateral relations and cooperation with Turkey, especially regarding the security file, which is the most important one," he told The Associated Press in an interview on his plane before landing in Ankara. "The PKK is an illegal terrorist organization, and the Turks are accusing them of terrorism. We don't allow for any terrorist organization on our soil," he said. "We want good relations with our neighbor, Turkey, and we should not interfere in each other's internal affairs."
Al-Maliki was greeted at the airport in Ankara by Turkey's Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen. The Iraqi delegation included Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari and some Iraqi legislators. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected to warn al-Maliki against allowing the PKK rebels to shelter in Iraq. Turkey has threatened to stage a cross-border offensive to eradicate the Kurdish rebel bases if Iraq or the United States do not act against the rebels.
Al-Maliki will likely seek to dissuade Turkey from launching an incursion. Turkey's patience with the decades-old rebel conflict has been running thin amid escalated fighting that has left around 80 Turkish soldiers dead so far this year. On Tuesday, Turkish generals were gathering for the funeral of a noncommissioned officer, also killed by rebels.
Al-Maliki planned to visit Iran on Wednesday.
Labels: Hoshyar Zibari, Hussain al-Shahristani, Kursad Tuzmen, Nouri Al-Maliki, PKK, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Turks strike oil export deals with Baghdad
Oil, Turkey
(kurdistan Observer) - Turkish officials say meetings with Iraqi leaders last week included new oil export deals with Baghdad, bypassing Iraqi Kurds. Turkey threatened to stop exporting needed fuel products to Iraq after Baghdad told Ankara it would have to deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government regarding shipments. Kurdistan, like the rest of Iraq, faces a shortage of transportation, cooking and heating fuels. "Iraqis clearly understood that it is not possible for them to meet their needs of oil products without Turkey," Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said after the Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization said it would retake control over shipment negotiations.
Tuzmen said the two sides struck a tentative one-year deal to exchange crude for oil products. The northern Iraq pipeline no longer works, having been bombed each time it begins operation, and Ankara would retrieve the oil via tanker. "The Iraqi delegation said they can export 20,000 barrels a day of crude oil from Kirkuk but that they first have to ask Baghdad," Tuzmen said. "We have reviewed our bilateral relations during the meetings. Iraqis said they want to make a one-year-long oil trade deal with Turkish companies. We have agreed on that."
The meeting took place as tensions between Iraq and Turkey escalated. Turkey insists the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk should not be added to the control of the KRG. And Ankara says it may enter Kurdish Iraq if the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, continues to launch attacks. The PKK is labeled a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union and wants an independent Kurdish state carved out of the Iraqi, Turkish, Syrian and Iranian Kurdish regions. In response, KRG officials said they would meet any Turkish troops with their own, casting a shadow of violence on the oil-rich and relatively calm Kurdistan region.
Labels: Iraq, Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organization, Kirkuk, KRG, Kursad Tuzmen, oil, PKK, Turkey
Monday, April 16, 2007
Turkey aims to raise bilateral trade with Iraq to $3.5 billion
Trade, Turkey
(Iraq Development Program) - State Minister for Foreign Trade Kursad Tuzmen yesterday said that the government aims to raise bilateral trade with Iraq to $3.5 billion, "I don't think that various populist messages targeting domestic politics will have a negative impact on such a successful fair," Tuzmen told reporters at a joint press conference with Turkey's leading business group, the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB). Tuzmen said Turkey's trade volume with neighboring Iraq could reach $3.5 billion this year but stressed the government wanted to further increase that figure.
When Turkish activities in the construction and service sectors are added, Turkish-Iraqi business volume is around $7 billion. "We aim at raising it to $10 billion, while raising the mutual trade volume to $3.5-4 billion," he added. Sabah al-Sa'adi, head of the Iraqi Commerce Ministry Department of Fairs, made comments over Barzani's threat to stir Turkey's southeastern region if Turkey interferes in the Kurds' bid to attach northern Iraq's oil-rich city of Kirkuk to the Kurdish semiautonomous zone.
Sa'adi said the controversial remarks were not official and were not made by the central Iraqi government. He emphasized that the economic ties between Turkey and Iraq would not be influenced by messages delivered by individuals.
When Turkish activities in the construction and service sectors are added, Turkish-Iraqi business volume is around $7 billion. "We aim at raising it to $10 billion, while raising the mutual trade volume to $3.5-4 billion," he added. Sabah al-Sa'adi, head of the Iraqi Commerce Ministry Department of Fairs, made comments over Barzani's threat to stir Turkey's southeastern region if Turkey interferes in the Kurds' bid to attach northern Iraq's oil-rich city of Kirkuk to the Kurdish semiautonomous zone.
Sa'adi said the controversial remarks were not official and were not made by the central Iraqi government. He emphasized that the economic ties between Turkey and Iraq would not be influenced by messages delivered by individuals.
Labels: Kurdistan, Kursad Tuzmen, Sabah al-Sa'adi, Turkey, Turkish Union of Chambers
