The government of Turkey said it will deal exclusively with the Iraqi government on oil exports after voters in the semiautonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq supported independence in a controversial referendum.
Assurance from Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim of support for Baghdad followed threats before the vote to close the pipeline that carries crude oil from Iraqi Kurdistan across Turkey to Ceyhan on the Mediterranean.
About 72% of eligible voters participated in the Sept. 25 referendum, which supported negotiations leading to separation from Iraq by nearly 93%.
Yildirim told Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi in a Sept. 28 telephone conversation that Turkey would deal only with Iraq on exports and that Iraq had “support of his country for all decisions,” according to press reports.
