HEWLÊR-Erbil, Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’,— The website WikiLeaks released on Tuesday nearly 300,000 emails allegedly sent from Turkey’s ruling AK Party (AKP), some of which were related to Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, four days after a failed military coup in Turkey.
One of the emails posted on the WikiLeaks website, dating back to March 15, 2016, purports to show evidence that the AKP gave Masoud Barzani $200 million in financial aid. The Kurdistan Regional Government is not mentioned in the email and the Kurdistan Region is referred to as “areas under the control of Peshmerga.”
According to the email, the AKP provided Barzani with the sum due to the temporary halt of Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil flow following the re-activation of the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik oil pipeline, which was stalled for 24 days.
he KRG called on Ankara for financial assistance as it struggles to pay the salary of Peshmerga forces due to financial crisis according to information in the email posted on WikiLeaks.
The date of the email coincides with a statement by KRG Spokesman Safeen Dizayee, which confirmed to NRT the KRG owed the Turkish government $200 million. The email claims to reveal the money was provided by the AKP according to a deal which does not mention the KRG or Turkey. There was no report from the KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources regarding the sum of money.
Oil exports to Turkey via the Kirkuk- Yumurtalık oil pipeline resumed on March 11, after being stalled for 24 days due to act of sabotage near the city of Urfa in Turkey’s southeast.
KRG officials made statement regarding the stoppage of oil flow, some of whom said the pipeline was damaged in an explosion, but investigation did not find evidence of an explosion.
Last February Kurdistan MP and Finance and Economic Affairs Committee Deputy Ali Hama Salih has criticized the KRG for “misleading” the public in Kurdistan and giving “contradictory speeches” regarding the cessation of the region’s oil exports.
“The KRG is deceiving the public,” he said. They have recently reported there was an explosion on the oil pipeline while yesterday the KRG spokesman said bombs have been placed surrounding the pipeline. On the other hand, the Ministry of Natural Resources says the pipeline is old and will be reconstructed,” Salih added.
Hours after Wikileaks released thousands of the ruling AK Party emails, Turkey blocked access to WikiLeaks website.