Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi are seen during a welcoming ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq, January 7, 2017. Hakan Goktepe/Prime Minister’s Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

US Working to Defuse Tensions in Kirkuk

by Said Abdul Razzak | Oct 15, 2017 | Middle East

Ankara, Washington, Irbil – With the end of the 48-hour deadline given by Baghdad for the Kurdish Peshmerga forces to withdraw from the oil fields in Kirkuk, Washington decided to intervene with an attempt to defuse a possible confrontation between the two...

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Trucks are pictured after crossing the border between Iraq and Turkey as vehicles wait in line to pass Habur border gate near Silopi, Turkey, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Ankara Proposes an Alternative Border Gate to Baghdad

by Said Abdul Razzak | Oct 7, 2017 | Middle East

Sulaymaniyah, Ankara — Ankara plans to open an alternative border gate to replace the currently used Habur gate with Iraq’s Kurdistan and has asked Baghdad on Friday to help take the needed measures to prepare the new crossing border. Turkish Prime Minister Binali...

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A flame rises from a chimney at Taq Taq oil field in Irbil, in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, August 16, 2014. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari,

Iran Bans Oil Refinery Products Traffic With Iraqi Kurdistan

by Said Abdul Razzak | Sep 30, 2017 | World

Ankara – Washington said earlier it would be willing to facilitate talks between the Iraqi Kurdish authorities and Baghdad to calm escalating tensions over the 92-percent “yes” vote. Neighboring Turkey and Iran also strongly opposed the vote, fearing it would...

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A man leaves Turkey’s Central Bank headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Turkey’s Central Bank Expects Economic Growth to Remain Robust in Third Quarter

by Said Abdul Razzak | Sep 26, 2017 | Business

Ankara- Turkey’s central bank expects economic growth to remain robust in the third quarter following a 5.1 percent growth rate in the second quarter — Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep short-term interest rates steady. The one-week repo rate, also...

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An Iraqi Kurdish man poses with his inked fingers after casting a vote during the referendum on independence from Iraq in Irbil on September 25, 2017. Khalid Mohammed / AP

Kurds Vote despite their Neighbors’ Threats

by Said Abdul Razzak | Sep 26, 2017 | Middle East

Ankara, Erbil, Baghdad- Iraq and the region entered on Monday the post-Kurdistan referendum phase as the popular vote held in the three Iraqi Kurdistan provinces tuned into a fait accompli. “The Kurdish political forces that were against the referendum or had some...