Abadi Asks Turkey to Stop Financially Supporting Kurdistan / Turkey refuses Iraqi Prime Minister’s request

MESOP: STOP ANKARA’S MONEY – TEHRANS DECISION VIA ABADI

ERBIL – Basnews 25 Feb 2015 – In response to the Turkish government’s decision to financially support the Kurdistan Region, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi secretly tried to speak with senior Turkish officials, to ask them not to go ahead with the agreement.

Sources have revealed to local media that Abadi attempted to stop the deal by speaking directly to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In the telephone call Erdoğan declined Abadi’s request. A later request to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was also turned down. Davutoglu said that the money will be sent from a Turkish bank soon and that Turkey intends to continue its financial support to the Kurdistan Region.

Kurdish delegates led by Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani visited Ankara last week and secured a $500 million loan to cover the salaries of government employees. Kurdish Member of the Iraqi Parliament Arafat Karam told BasNews that the response of Erdoğan proves that Turkey wants to deal with the Kurdistan Region officially. Baghdad regularly attempts to sabotage this relationship. “It is an indicator that the Kurdistan Region’s diplomacy has been successful,” said Karam. He went on, “Turkey sees the Kurdistan Regional Government as more trustworthy than Baghdad because the Kurdistan Region has more stable foundations – it is impossible to know what will happen in Baghdad in the next four years. This has improved Turkey’s trust in the Kurdistan Region.”