Iraq to demand Kurdish oil money from Turkey

A senior Iraqi official has expressed the new Iraqi government’s intention to demand the money collected in a Turkish bank over the Kurdistan regional government’s unilateral sale of oil through Turkey that sparked a row between Ankara and Baghdad during Nouri al-Maliki’s rule.

“We know that our money is in safe hands. We have not raised this issue this time but it will be on the top of our agenda in our upcoming meeting with the Turkish side,” Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari told a group of journalists Nov. 7, on the last day of a three-day visit to Turkey. Al-Jaafari was the first senior Iraqi official to pay a visit to Ankara since Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi formed a new government. The visit was described by both countries as the beginning of a new era in bilateral ties after a long period of tension due to al-Maliki’s sectarian policies.

Turkey’s deal with Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to deepen energy cooperation and the sale of oil produced in northern Iraq to world markets through Turkey chilled ties between Ankara and Baghdad, prompting al-Maliki to file a complaint against Turkey at the Paris-based International Commerce Court (ICC). Because Baghdad and Arbil failed to reach a compromise over the sale of oil and revenue sharing, Ankara’s move to allow the sale of oil has been seen as violation of international law and the Iraqi Constitution.

Turkey, on the other hand, justified its actions with recourse to the Iraqi Constitution, which stipulates the distribution of oil revenues between the central and regional government in the proportion of 83-17.

Reports suggested that the KRG could export oil in 12 different shipments but the amount of money blocked at Turkey’s Halkbank...