"... Speaking to reporters in Kayseri, Yıldız said the trip was planned on Monday and that his delegation received the information on Tuesday morning that Iraqi authorities had barred all private planes from flying to the Kurdish-run northern Iraq but went ahead with travel plans hoping that the Iraqi authorities will make an “exception.”..........
The incident is the latest in a series of recent spats between Turkey and the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It is also set to deepen tensions between the Maliki government and the Kurdish administration, which are at odds over both disputed territories and energy deals it has signed with foreign companies without federal approval.
A Kurdish official said the Iraqi decision to ban private planes from landing in northern Iraq was “groundless and unacceptable.” The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the private Cihan news agency, said the ban stemmed from disputes between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdish administration, calling it an “act of intimidation” aimed at the Kurdish administration.
In addition to political disagreements, Turkish-Iraqi ties have soured significantly in the recent past due to oil agreements which Turkey signed with the Kurdish administration without the consent of the Iraqi government.....
The Iraqi government had earlier announced that it had decided to reconsider ties with Turkey after Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu paid a surprise visit on Aug. 1 to Kirkuk, an oil-rich Iraqi city claimed by both the central government and the country's autonomous KRG, without first consulting central Iraqi authorities..."
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