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Turkey says to search for oil near Iraq's Qandil mountain

Xinhua, March 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said here on Monday that his country will search for oil near Mount Qandil, a base for the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq.

Turkey owns oil blocks it wants to explore in the foothills of the Qandil mountain, as part of its agreements with Baghdad and contracts with the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, Yildiz told reporters in the Turkish capital.

"We'll launch drilling in Hindirin and Coman fields," he stated, adding that Turkey's peace talks with the PKK would bring new working areas in the energy sector.

The government-promoted talks with jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, were launched in October 2012 to end a three-decade Kurdish insurgency and to disarm the group.

Last week, Ocalan called on the his followers to convene a congress to discuss disarmament of the group following an agreement with the government which pledges to enhance democratic rights of the Kurds in the country.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

The 30-year conflict between the PKK and the Turkish government has claimed the lives of some 40,000 people so far. The armed wing of the group is based in Qandil mountains in northern Iraq. Endit