Arbil

The fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is unifying not only Baghdad and Arbil, but also the Kurds in Iraq and Syria, thereby creating a completely new Kurdish reality in the region.

Turkey could propose to Russia building an LNG terminal in an energy complex on its border with Greece, as part of talks on planned new gas pipeline with its northern neighbor, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız has said.

In addition to training troops, Turkey has sent weapons to the Iraqi Kurdish forces combating the Islamist militants who have swept across large parts of the country, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Chief of Staff Fuad Hussein has said.

Turkey is a guarantor for energy peace between Baghdad and Arbil, according to the head of an international energy company operating in Iraq.  

Turkey’s dependence on Russian gas and oil has turned into another factor in the Middle East. As the price of oil fell into historic lows, Moscow is suffering financially and Turkey can turn its “dependent customer” role into a bargaining chip.

The Iraqi government transferred $500 million to the autonomous Kurdish region on Nov. 19 as part of a deal aimed at ending long-running oil and budget disputes, the finance minister said.
      

An agreement reached between Baghdad and Arbil is a guarantee of stability for the country and the region, said Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız at a press conference in the northwestern Turkish province of Kocaeli.

Turkey’s state-run oil company TPAO has invested $6 billion in Iraq as a part of several consortiums, a total of which makes more than $26 billion invested in the country, said Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız Nov. 11.

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.

Most of the convictions on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have proven to be false so far, which has urged the West and regional powers to revisit their strategies toward Iraq and Syria.