United Emblem, the latest tanker to leave the Turkish port of Ceyhan loaded with Kurdish oil, was heading west Thursday toward Sicily. United Leadership, which left the Turkish port in May, is parked off the coast of Morocco.
The Iraqi government filed a case against the semiautonomous Kurdish government over the exports, arguing the Kurds had violated the national constitution.
A senior official in the Turkish Energy Ministry told Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah the Iraqi central government may lose the case. Ankara is "pretty sure" the courts would rule against Baghdad, he said.
The Kurdistan Regional Government last week issued a statement saying its oil policies were "fully in line with the federal constitution of Iraq."
Washington said it sided with the central government in Baghdad in the case. No sales, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said, can move forward without the federal government's consent.
© 2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.Recommended Stories
California mayor caught on camera throwing dog poop on neighbor's property
Jun 11
Placido Domingo to perform before Wold Cup final
Jun 12
Kit Harington says his hair 'has its own contract' on 'GOT'
Jun 11
Dave Coulier, of 'Full House,' is engaged
Jun 11
Lea Michele reportedly dating gigolo Matthew Paetz
Jun 11