The Associated Press reported June 6 that hundreds of Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq in pursuit of PKK guerrillas. The reports were denied by Ankara. The following day, Reuters reported that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said parliament’s approval would be needed for such an incursion. “A parliament decision is necessary to launch a cross-border operation and the steps would be taken accordingly,” Erdogan was quoted by state-run Anatolian agency. AP reported that Turkey’s top commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said: “The Turkish soldier is not a bully of the neighborhood. There is need for political directives.” However, he did say several areas near the border have been declared “temporary security zones.”
Thomson Financial reported that global oil prices, which rose in response to reports of the incursion, fell 17 cents to $70.85 per barrel in response to the denial.
See our last posts on Iraq, Turkey and Kurdistan, the struggle for Iraq’s oil, and the struggle for the world’s oil.
