ISTANBUL // Turkey said yesterday it was open to dialogue with Iraq, despite Baghdad's public snub of a Turkish government minister.
Ankara and the Iraqi government have been at loggerheads for months. The confrontation is partly fuelled by the Iraqis' growing anger over efforts by Turkey to forge closer ties with northern Iraq's oil-rich Kurdish region, which has its own problems with the central Iraqi government.
Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, described developments in Iraq as "more worrisome than those in Syria", a Turkish official said yesterday.
The situation in Iraq was one of the issues discussed during a meeting between Mr Davutoglu and the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in Brussels yesterday, the Turkish foreign ministry said.
On Tuesday, Iraq's prime minister, Nouri Al Maliki, denied Taner Yildiz, Ankara's energy minister, permission to fly to Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdish region, and forced the minister to break off his trip in a government aircraft.
"Despite what has happened to the minister, our aim is still dialogue," a Turkish official said yesterday. He pointed out that Mr Yildiz had reacted with a "sober statement" after the incident. The minister spoke of an "interruption in communication".
But Aziz Hasan Barzani, an Iraqi-Kurdish academic and member of the clan of Iraqi Kurdistan's leader Mesut Barzani, said that the problems ran deeper.
"It is difficult for Turkey to deal with the Iraqi government, especially with Maliki as prime minister," he said.
"Turkey is waiting for the next elections and maybe a new prime minister," said Mr Barzani, who is the vice-dean of Salahaddin University in Erbil and an adviser to the International Middle East Peace Research Center (IMPR), a think tank in Ankara.
The Turkish media yesterday described Iraq's decision to deny Mr Yildiz entry into its airspace as a humiliation and an act of revenge by Baghdad, after an unannounced visit by Mr Davutoglu to the disputed city of Kirkuk last year triggered angry Iraqi protests.
"Special ban for the minister," the Radikal newspaper said in its front-page headline yesterday.
Iraq said Mr Yildiz was not allowed to fly to Erbil because the request for the flight failed to comply with regulations.
But reports from Erbil, where an energy conference was underway, suggested the real reason might have been efforts by Baghdad to prevent Mr Yildiz from signing a new agreement for Turkish investments in the region's oil and gas sector.
Turkey wants access to Iraqi-Kurdish energy to diversify its sources and meet increasing demand.
Mr Barzani said the central Iraqi government was unhappy with Turkey's role in the Kurdish north, where Turkish companies are important investors and from where oil is exported to world markets via Turkish territory.
"Baghdad doesn't like to see more Turkish political and economic influence in Iraqi Kurdistan," he said.
Relations between Turkey and the government of Mr Al Maliki have gone from bad to worse in recent months.
The feud is not only over influence in Iraqi Kurdistan, but also connected to a regional rivalry between predominantly Sunni Turkey and Shiite power Iran, an ally of Mr Al Maliki, Mr Barzani said.
"There has been competition between Turkey and Iran in the Middle East ever since the withdrawal of US troops" from Iraq, he said.
Mr Al Maliki, a Shiite, has strongly criticised Turkey's decision to shelter Iraq's Sunni vice-president Tarek Al Hashemi, who has been sentenced to death for murder by a court in Iraq.
Last month, Mr Maliki and Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused each other of steering their respective countries towards civil war.
A Turkish official said last week that Mr Al Maliki was a politician who "has a problem with himself".
Ankara and Baghdad have also accused each other of inciting sectarian tension and have summoned each other's ambassadors in tit-for-tat manoeuvres.
tseibert@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Florian Neuhof in Erbil, and Reuters
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
Company%20Profile
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UAE WARRIORS RESULTS
Featherweight
Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)
TKO round 2
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Split points decision
Welterweight
Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)
TKO round 1
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Unanimous points decision
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
TKO round 1
Catchweight 100kg
Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)
Rear neck choke round 1
Featherweight
James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)
TKO round 2
Welterweight
Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Unanimous points decision
Bantamweight
Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Unanimous points decision
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)
TKO round 1
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)
TKO round 3
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Submission round 2
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
TKO round 2
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
