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TURKISH ENERGY MINISTER BANNED FROM LANDING IN IRAQ
December 4, 2012 - 19:28 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - A plane carrying Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz
to an energy conference in Iraqi Kurdistan was denied permission to
land on Tuesday, December 4 by the central government in Baghdad,
a Turkish energy ministry official said, according to Reuters.
The plane, which was en route from Istanbul to the northern Iraqi
city of Arbil, was forced to land in Turkey's Kayseri, southeast of
the capital Ankara, the official said.
The plane would not seek permission to land again and the minister
would now not attend the conference, the official said.
It was not immediately clear why the minister's private aircraft had
been denied permission and officials in Baghdad were not immediately
available for comment.
Ties between Ankara and Baghdad have been strained for the past year
since Shi'ite Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the arrest
of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, based on allegations that
he ran death squads. Turkey is now giving sanctuary to Hashemi.
December 4, 2012 - 19:28 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - A plane carrying Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz
to an energy conference in Iraqi Kurdistan was denied permission to
land on Tuesday, December 4 by the central government in Baghdad,
a Turkish energy ministry official said, according to Reuters.
The plane, which was en route from Istanbul to the northern Iraqi
city of Arbil, was forced to land in Turkey's Kayseri, southeast of
the capital Ankara, the official said.
The plane would not seek permission to land again and the minister
would now not attend the conference, the official said.
It was not immediately clear why the minister's private aircraft had
been denied permission and officials in Baghdad were not immediately
available for comment.
Ties between Ankara and Baghdad have been strained for the past year
since Shi'ite Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the arrest
of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, based on allegations that
he ran death squads. Turkey is now giving sanctuary to Hashemi.