Turkish Energy Minister banned from to landing in Iraq December 4, 2012 - 19:28 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A plane carrying Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz to an energy conference in Iraqi Kurdistan was denied permission to land on Tuesday, December 4 by the central government in Baghdad, a Turkish energy ministry official said, according to Reuters. The plane, which was en route from Istanbul to the northern Iraqi city of Arbil, was forced to land in Turkey's Kayseri, southeast of the capital Ankara, the official said. The plane would not seek permission to land again and the minister would now not attend the conference, the official said. It was not immediately clear why the minister's private aircraft had been denied permission and officials in Baghdad were not immediately available for comment. Ties between Ankara and Baghdad have been strained for the past year since Shi'ite Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered the arrest of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, based on allegations that he ran death squads. Turkey is now giving sanctuary to Hashemi.   Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot".   Partner news |  Latest news Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall  A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte.Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province.€3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms.Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |
