Turkey Inks Gas Deal with Kurds

In a development that could strain relations between Turkey and the central government of Iraq, Ankara has inked energy agreement with Kurdistan Regional Government, media reports have said.

As per a report in AFP, Turkey and Iraqi Kurds have reportedly agreed recently to build a natural gas pipeline to transport at least 10 billion cubic metres of gas annually.

However, Turkish officials have not publically confirmed this development, AFP said.

The news agency added that the agreement could raise eyebrows in Washington, where there are concerns that deals such as these could tip the volatile country towards disintegration and push an increasingly isolated Baghdad into Iran’s embrace.

Turkey has already ruffled Washington’s feathers by continuing to import Iranian oil and gas despite US efforts to isolate Tehran over its alleged nuclear weapons drive, AFP said.

Analysts say energy-hungry Turkey’s dependence on expensive energy imports from Iran and Russia are pushing it to find cheaper sources, and northern Iraq appears to be the best provider.

“Iraqi sources are the cheapest and it is a way for Turkey to diminish its energy dependence,” Mete Goknel, former director of Turkey’s state-owned pipeline company Botas, told AFP.