HABUR,
Turkey (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan warned on Monday Turkey could cut
off the pipeline that carries oil from northern Iraq to the outside world,
intensifying pressure on the Kurdish autonomous region over its independence
referendum.
Erdogan
spoke shortly after Prime Minister Binali Yildirum said Ankara could take
punitive measures involving borders and air space against the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) over the referendum and would not recognize the
outcome.
Voting began
on Monday despite strong opposition from Iraq’s central government and
neighboring Turkey and Iran - both with significant Kurdish populations - as
well as Western warnings the move could aggravate Middle East instability.
Erdogan,
grappling with a long-standing Kurdish insurgency in Turkey’s southeast
bordering northern Iraq, said the “separatist” referendum was unacceptable and
economic, trade and security counter-measures would be taken.
He stopped
short of saying Turkey had decided to close off the oil flow. Hundreds of
thousands of barrels of oil a day come through the pipeline in Turkey from
northern Iraq, but he made clear the option was on the table.
“After this,
let’s see through which channels the northern Iraqi regional government will
send its oil, or where it will sell it,” he said in a speech. “We have the tap.
The moment we close the tap, then it’s done.”
Yildirim
said Ankara would decide on punitive measures against the KRG after talks with
Iraq’s central government.
“Our energy,
interior and customs ministries are working on (measures). We are evaluating
steps regarding border gates and air space. We will take these steps quickly,”
Yildirim told Turkish broadcasters.
Local media
said Turkey had blocked access to the KRG via the Habur border crossing with
Iraq. Ankara’s customs minister denied this, saying Habur remained open but
with tight controls on traffic, according to the state-run Anadolu agency.
“It seems
all quiet. We don’t have any difficulties passing the border from both sides,”
said Maruf Ari, a 50-year-old truck driver who crossed back into Turkey from
Iraq on Monday morning.
“If the
border is closed it will harm all of us. I‘m doing this job for 20 years. I‘m
not making a lot of money. Around 1,000 lira ($285) a month. But if the gate is
closed, we will go hungry.”
Turkish
President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during a conference in Istanbul,
Turkey, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
The United
States and other Western powers also urged authorities in the KRG to cancel the
vote, saying it would distract from the fight against Islamic State.
PARLIAMENT
VOTE
Shares of
flag carrier Turkish Airlines, which has direct flights to northern Iraq, fell
nearly 4 percent, underperforming a 1.75 percent decline in the BIST 100 index.
Turkey’s lira currency also weakened.
Turkey has
long been northern Iraq’s main link to the outside world, but sees the
referendum as a grave matter for its own national security. Turkey has the
region’s largest Kurdish population and has been fighting a three-decade
insurgency in its mainly Kurdish southeast.
Turkish
President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during a conference in Istanbul,
Turkey, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer
On Saturday
Turkey’s parliament voted to extend by a year a mandate authorizing the
deployment of troops in Iraq and Syria.
The KRG
exports hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil per day through Turkey to
international markets, in defiance of Iraq’s central government.
With that in
mind, Turkey is unlikely to make rash moves when it comes to sanctions against
the KRG, said Nihat Ali Ozcan, a professor of political science and
international relations at TOBB University of Economics and Technology.
“Closing the
border gate, cancelling international flights and, at the final step, cutting
the pipeline can be discussed,” he said. “Military pressure can be used
directly or indirectly.”
The Turkish
army launched military exercises involving tanks and armored vehicles near the
Habur border crossing a week ago and they are expected to continue until Sept.
26. Additional units joined the exercises as they entered their second stage.
The military
has also in recent days carried out daily air strikes against Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) militant targets in northern Iraq, where the group’s commanders are
based.
The PKK
launched its separatist insurgency in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have
been killed since. It is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United
States and European Union.
In a travel
warning, Turkey strongly recommended its citizens in the Iraqi Kurdish
provinces of Dohuk, Erbil and Sulaimaniya leave as soon as possible if they are
not obliged to stay.
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