ANKARA
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday that assistance and support to the Iraqi Kurdish people would continue.
His remarks came at a private meeting with Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government prime minister Nechirvan Barzani in Ankara.
According to sources from the Turkish Prime Ministry, the two talked about the security and humanitarian situation in northern Iraq, Turkey's humanitarian aid to the region, and the ongoing cooperation in energy.
The Turkish Red Crescent has been delivering humanitarian aid to Iraq's Turkmen, Kurdish, Arab, Ezidi and Shabak communities in camps that were set up in Iraq for displaced people due to the ISIL threat in the region.
As for the energy cooperation between Ankara and Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government's capital Erbil, Iraq's crude oil keeps flowing via Turkey despite attacks by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. On May 22, 2014, northern Iraqi oil reached international markets from Turkey's southern Ceyhan port, despite strong opposition from Baghdad.
According to the agreement between Baghdad and Erbil reached on Dec. 2, 2014, the Kurdish Regional Government is now permitted to export 250,000 barrels of oil per day, and Kirkuk province 300,000 barrels per day, under the central government’s supervision. In return, the Iraqi government is required to provide 17 percent of its national budget to Erbil.
Earlier in the day, Barzani had met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
