ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani held talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan about trade and energy between the two neighbors on Wednesday.
Both leaders explored ways of developing economic and trade relations, and stressed the need to make all efforts to raise and expand commercial ties between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq with Turkey.
The meeting was attended by the KRG’s Deputy Prime Minister Emad Ahmed, Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami and government spokesman Safeen Dizayee. The Turkish side comprised of Energy Minister Taner Yildiz, Foreign Ministry Advisor Feridun Sinirle Ihsanoglu and a number of other officials.
The two sides discussed several topics of mutual interest, including bilateral relations and the latest regional developments. Their talks coincide with unresolved disputes between the KRG and Baghdad over budget and oil issues.
Last week, KRG President Massoud Barzani declared in an interview with Sky News Arabia that “a Kurdish state is coming.” Turkey, which has been fearful of any prospect of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq, has remained silent over talk in the Kurdistan Region of separating from Iraq and setting up a sovereign Kurdish state.
Dizayee, the KRG spokesman, said that Erbil would carry on the talks with Baghdad to resolve issues revolving around Kurdistan’s oil and gas.
He emphasized that Kurdish oil exported to Turkey via Kurdistan’s independent pipeline continues to be stored and has not been sold. “A large quantity of oil has been stored, but has not been sold yet,” he told Rudaw. “The KRG is awaiting an agreement with Baghdad to sell the stored oil,” he added.
Before going into the meeting with the KRG delegation, Yıldız had said that energy would be one of the main topics of discussion with Barzani.
The KRG spokesman played down any prospect of a deal any time soon due to the Iraqi parliamentary elections on April 30.
“Reaching an agreement with the Baghdad government at this time is difficult due to the Iraqi parliamentary elections,” he said. He added that despite the difficulty “the KRG will continue its talks with Baghdad. The oil revenues will benefit Iraq as a whole,” said Dizayee. “But the agreement must benefit the people of Kurdistan.”
Baghdad and Erbil are locked in long-standing disputes over oil, the national budget, status of the Kurdish Peshmarga forces and large tracts of “disputed territories” that are claimed by both sides.
The KRG’s completed oil pipeline and its close energy cooperation with Turkey has angered Baghdad, which has threatened to sue any company purchasing Kurdish oil pumped to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
