| Submit your comments on this article |
| Axis of Evil |
| Turkey eyes northern Iraqi oil |
| 2003-01-08 |
| Turkey is examining old international treaties to determine what rights it has over oil fields in northern Iraq. "If we do have rights... we have to explain that to the international community and our partners and secure those rights," foreign minister Yasar Yakis said in the mass-circulation Turkish daily Hurriyet. Secure them with the Turkish Army, in fact But he added that Turkey had no intention of claiming the fields for itself and that Iraq should maintain control. The comments have been interpreted as a signal to Iraqi Kurds that Turkey would not condone a bid to establish a separate state in the event of a US-led war. Ain't gonna let that happen "This is a sensitive issue for us. We are discussing it with the United States. They say every time that they understand our worries and share our views," Mr Yakis was quoted as saying. We think it would be just peachy if you had those oil fields He said treaties from the 1920s, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, were being examined to see if Turkey had a legal claim to oilfields around the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk. Iraq's oil fields are considered to be the world's second largest after Saudi Arabia. "We are having that examined now. In other words we have to examine whether there has been anything in later years that cancelled out those rights," he said. Mr Yakis added that Turkey was trying to protect its own interests as well as those of the Turkish-speaking minority in northern Iraq. Turkey maintains a heavy military presence in northern Iraq, which is covered by a US and British no-fly zone, to control Kurdish separatists. Northern Iraq has been under the control of Kurdish groups, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) which is closely allied with Ankara, since the end of the 1991 Gulf War. The state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), which produces 90% of Turkey's oil, has the right to drill 20 wells in the KDP areas. But Baghdad has repeatedly condemned the military occupation and asked the UN to demand a withdrawal. Iraq operates oilfields near the town of Kirkuk just south of the Kurdish-held areas. Turkey doesn't want a war because they have a lot of trade with Iraq. They also don't want the Kurds to have access to the oil money that would come if the Kurds grabbed Northern Iraq after the soon to happen war. I believe that Turkey has decided that if war is inevitable, they will seize the northern oil fields, claim historic rights and begin pumping like mad. They could keep this in the international courts for years with claims and counter claims. Plus, all that oil would make them very attractive as a future EU member. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 well, I hope the first theing they do is hire a PR agent because it wont be too long before people start wanting to put the words "Turk" and "Kurd" together, coming up with a somewhat scatalogical option that niether party would be happy with. |
| Posted by: Frank Martin 2003-01-08 19:50:13 |
| #6 "His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Turkey, Protector of the Kurds..." It's a stretch, but it could happen... |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-01-08 18:00:03 |
| #5 From the Kurds perspecitve, are any of the options ( turk takeover, Kurd autonomy, combination therein) worse than the conditions they have now? From the Turk perspective, are any of the options putting them at a weaker positon than they are if nothing is done? I dont think the Kurds are Palestinians, they will take half a loaf. The Turks live at the crossroads of the world, that makes them natural hagglers. The Turks will cut a deal, the kurds will accept it. |
| Posted by: Frank Martin 2003-01-08 14:31:08 |
| #4 As Fred wrote, the Turks could claim historical rights to oil revenue without seizing Iraqi sovereign territory. Pumping stations are low tech. Even if the Iraqis destroyed every existing northern station, the Turks could have crude on trucks in a few weeks. By the way, a high percentage of Kurds recognize that separate statehood is non viable in their landlocked region. The Turks could throw money at the problem. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-01-08 13:56:46 |
| #3 I like Turkey too, but when can we tell them to shut up and accept a Kurdish state. Turkey puts so much diplomatic capital into keeping the Kurds down that I have to imagine that they'd actually be better off with a prosperous, free, and grateful Kurdistan on their border, even if part of it has to be carved out of their current territory. I'm sure there's complex political reasons, ancient ethnic hatreds, blah blah blah. Screw 'em. Let joint Turkish/Kurdish companies pump the oil and everyone can get fat and happy. |
| Posted by: Hermetic 2003-01-08 12:02:08 |
| #2 I like turkey - if they want some oil fields they can have them. International law is just what we push onto the losers. Hmm coffee too strong... |
| Posted by: flash91 2003-01-08 11:52:38 |
| #1 A major problem with this scenario is that it would reunite the Turkish and Iraqi Kurds into a single political entity -- part of Turkey. You can bet the Turks don't want that, since it allows the Kurds to demand more autonomy or even a separate state. Indeed, the grab would make it likely that the Kurds would agitate for this. And I don't see how the Turks could grab Mosul and Kirkuk without picking up a lot of new Kurdish, er, "citizens", unless they gerrymander the new map in ways that would make a Chicago alderman proud. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2003-01-08 11:38:51 |