Iraq-Turkey relationship damaged

Iraq-Turkey relations are to be questioned after the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu arrived at the disputed Iraqi city of Kirkuk without informing the Iraqi government of the visit. Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the Iraqi government stated "The cabinet studied recent developments and decided to review these relations in light of recent developments." Dabbagh also said Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani would head a committee "to investigate the circumstances of the Turkish foreign minister's visit to Kirkuk and present recommendations to the cabinet." The visit on August 2 lead to accusations by Iraq  of Turkey violating the Iraqi constitution and sovereignty as the minister had not obtained the permission of the Iraqi Government. The oil rich territory in Iraq’s north has a long and often disputed history on ownership and control as the area is made up of several ethnicities including Arabs, Kurds and Turks. The city is located in the Iraqi Autonomous Region also known as Kurdistan according to the regional government though this is disputed by the central Iraqi government. Turkey and the Iraqi Autonomous Region have a varied recent history with Turkish troops staging combat operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (KKP) IN 2008 though the situation has improved since due to Turkish investment in the region. However this investment has not pleased the central administration as Turkey’s oil imports from Kurdistan do not comply or have permission from the central government.