The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

Posted by Sappho on June 24th, 2014 filed in News and Commentary

You may have noticed, if you’ve been following events in the Middle East, that in late May Turkey offered a lifeline to Iraq’s Kurdish region by allowing them to export oil through Turkey. Turkey, in the past, has been wary of the independence aspirations of the Kurdish region in Iraq, given Turkey’s own troubled history with Kurdish insurgents. But now, with tensions between Turkey and ISIS on the rise, rapprochement with Iraq’s Kurds begins to look appealing. Here’s a round up of discussion of this new development.

In the New York Times, Mustafa Akyol applauds the move, in “Turkey’s Best Ally: The Kurds.” He also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the Erdogan-Davutoglu foreign policy.

Michael Koplow, bloggings at Ottomans and Zionists, thinks it’s Time For Turkey To Support An Independent Iraqi Kurdistan.

Sabah reports on Turkey’s new revenue from the Kurdish Regional Government’s oil. (Meanwhile, another recent article reports on protesting mothers getting the PKK to release a child recruit, so rapprochement with Iraqi Kurds doesn’t mean Turkey’s internal PKK problem is resolved.)

Back in January, Keith Johnson in Foreign Policy reported on the Iraqi Oil Minister’s threats should Turkey help Iraqi Kurdistan export oil. Iraq did follow through with those threats by taking legal action against Turkey in May, but has not managed to stop the pipeline.

Here’s Hurriyet Daily News on the first tranche of Iraqi Kurd oil revenue for Turkey, and here’s an earlier Hurriyet Daily News article on the 50 year energy accord that Turkey signed with the Kurdish Regional Government.