23 January 2006
ANKARA -- Turkish firms selling petroleum products to neighboring Iraq have decided to halt shipments due to mounting arrears in payments by Baghdad, the Anatolia news agency reported on Saturday.
The 34 Turkish companies involved in sales to the war-torn country have decided to stop loading their tankers as of Saturday, although those already loaded will make the final deliveries until payment is received for more than $1 billion of outstanding debt, Anatolia said.
"Our companies continued to deliver after I personally requested them to do so to avoid Iraq being left without petrol during the Sacrifice Holiday" [last week], minister of state Kursad Tuzmen told the agency.
"But as there was no progress in payments and the debt went over $1 billion, our companies stopped their tankers taking delivery from the loading facilities as of today," Tuzmen said.
Ercument Aksoy, president of the Turkish-Iraqi Business Council, said that the latest payment from Baghdad came four days ago and was only around $100 million.
"$1 billion dollars is a very serious debt," Aksoy told Anatolia, adding that his organization was holding talks with Turkey's foreign trade secretariat and foreign ministry, as well as the US embassy here, and that he hoped for "results soon".
The state minister implicitly backed the Turkish companies' decision to halt shipments.
"We do not want Iraq to want for petrol," Tuzmen said, "but with $1 billion outstanding, there is not much we can tell the companies. It seems unlikely that shipments can continue under these circumstances."
ANKARA -- Turkish firms selling petroleum products to neighboring Iraq have decided to halt shipments due to mounting arrears in payments by Baghdad, the Anatolia news agency reported on Saturday.
The 34 Turkish companies involved in sales to the war-torn country have decided to stop loading their tankers as of Saturday, although those already loaded will make the final deliveries until payment is received for more than $1 billion of outstanding debt, Anatolia said.
"Our companies continued to deliver after I personally requested them to do so to avoid Iraq being left without petrol during the Sacrifice Holiday" [last week], minister of state Kursad Tuzmen told the agency.
"But as there was no progress in payments and the debt went over $1 billion, our companies stopped their tankers taking delivery from the loading facilities as of today," Tuzmen said.
Ercument Aksoy, president of the Turkish-Iraqi Business Council, said that the latest payment from Baghdad came four days ago and was only around $100 million.
"$1 billion dollars is a very serious debt," Aksoy told Anatolia, adding that his organization was holding talks with Turkey's foreign trade secretariat and foreign ministry, as well as the US embassy here, and that he hoped for "results soon".
The state minister implicitly backed the Turkish companies' decision to halt shipments.
"We do not want Iraq to want for petrol," Tuzmen said, "but with $1 billion outstanding, there is not much we can tell the companies. It seems unlikely that shipments can continue under these circumstances."
© Middle East Times 2006
