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Iraq refers Turkish Oil deals to
Kurdistan, Angers Turkey
29.1.2007 |
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January 29, 2007
Iraq's oil authority has referred Turkish companies'
requests for renewal of their contracts for
transportation of oil products to Iraq to Kurdish
authorities, prompting an angry reaction from
Turkey.
Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) has
refused to renew the contracts of Turkish companies
exporting oil products to Iraq and said in a letter
to the companies that they should get in touch with
authorities in Kurdistan region (northern Iraq) if
they wanted to renew their agreements, Anatolia news
agency said.
But SOMO's letter, signed by Director-General Fallah
Al-Amri, drew ire in Ankara. State Minister Kürşat
Tüzmen confirmed that some companies had received
some "strange" letters saying that they should talk
to authorities in Kurdistan (northern Iraq), while
others had been given the same instruction verbally.
"SOMO's attitude is unacceptable," said Tüzmen to
the Anatolia.
"If someone is trying to test Turkey's patience,
they will pay a heavy price for this. "Turkey says
Iraq's territorial integrity must be protected and
denounces possible attempts by Iraqi Kurds to create
an independent state in north of the country.
Ankara also insists that oil and other riches of the
country must be governed by Baghdad and the revenues
must go to all Iraqis.
"Turkey recognizes an undivided Iraq with
territorial integrity. Therefore, we talk to the
central Iraqi government and SOMO on oil issues,"
Tüzmen said. "If some people try to impose certain
things on Turkey, they will fail. Turkey never
allows such a fait accompli."
SOMO's oil move comes amid political tension between
Turkey and Iraq over the status of the disputed city
of Kirkuk. Ankara has been increasingly vocal over
the past weeks in criticizing a planned referendum
in 2007 on the fate of Kirkuk and demanding a
postponement for the vote.
On Friday, The US Department of State said it
supported Iraq's
plan to hold a referendum on Kirkuk and
reiterated its view that the problem had to be
solved as outlined in the Iraqi constitution.
Article 140 of the constitution that passed in 2005
envisages holding a referendum on the future of
Kirkuk by the end of this year.
Sean McCormack, spokesman for the department, said
during a routine press conference, "The way to solve
the Kirkuk problem is in the Iraqi constitution and
the Iraqis have already a running process in their
hands that tells them how to determine the status of
Kirkuk."
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently
said Turkey would not allow a "fait accompli" on the
fate of Kirkuk and hinted that a military option is
also on the table. Kirkuk sits atop six percent of
the world's known oil reserves and experts believe
the city's control would bring significant leverage
to Kurds in their attempts for independence.
Iraqi government,
in response, criticized Turkey for its
interference in Iraqi affairs and said Turkish
politicians were trying to stir tension in the
north.
Turkey, in line with a past decree issued by the
Prime Minister's office, speaks to only the Iraqi
government and SOMO on issues related to export of
oil production to Iraq.
Tüzmen said officials at the Undersecretariat for
Foreign Trade have tried to contact SOMO to discuss
the letters sent to the Turkish companies, but that
there was no response from the Iraqi authorities. "SOMO
officials do not answer phone calls" from the
Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade, he said. Tüzmen
sent a letter to Iraqi oil minister, criticizing
SOMO's letter to Turkish companies and urging the
Iraqi side to respect the principles previously
agreed upon.
"Unilateral decisions that do not respect these
principles may negatively affect the ongoing trade
of oil products between Turkey and Iraq," Tüzmen
said in his letter.
todayszaman com
*
The former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein forced
more than 250,000 Kurdish residents to give up their
homes to Arabs in the 1970s, to "Arabize" the city
and the region's oil industry.
Kirkuk city is a Kurdistani city and it lies just
south border of the Kurdistan autonomous region and
it is not under the full control of Kurdistan
Regional Government administration.
A referendum is to be held in late 2007 to decide
whether the oil-rich Kurdish province should be
annexed to the safe semiautonomous Kurdistan region
in Iraq's north.
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