ANKARA - Turkey is aware of Iraq's concerns about Iraqi Kurdistan's energy projects and will take them into account, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Friday, after the semi-autonomous region said it would build a second oil pipeline to Turkey.The pipeline, by offering a route to Western markets, may encourage northern Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to seek greater independence from Baghdad, with which it has been at loggerheads over oil-production contracts and revenue sharing."The central Iraqi government has two fundamental sensitivities and these are justified sensitivities," Yildiz told reporters.Baghdad has repeatedly warned that any Turkish deals with the hydrocarbons-rich KRG may breach its agreements with Iraq.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)