Kordpress

Analytical news media "Standard" wrote in a report that the recent trade movement between Iraq and Turkey through the Rabia border terminal is not just a normal change of direction, but could be the beginning of a new phase to weaken the economic position of the "Yellow Zone" and the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

The report states that the activation of the transit corridor from Syria to Iraq, without passing through the Kurdistan Region, will reduce the importance of the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing, which was considered the economic backbone of the Kurdistan Democratic Party for decades.

Standard has emphasized that this development is actually the continuation of Turkey's old project to create a direct communication route with Baghdad, without the need to pass through the territory of the Kurdistan Region; The project known as "Owakoi" was known as a strategic threat against the geopolitical situation of the region.

According to this report, the political closeness of Ankara and Damascus, as well as the behind-the-scenes coordination between Turkey and Baghdad, has made the Syrian route active as a faster and more efficient alternative to the Ibrahim Khalil crossing.

In the continuation of the report, it is stated that the Ovakoy project aims to connect Türkiye to Tel Afar and Mosul through the Fish Khabour area, and aims to completely remove the Kurdistan region from international transit equations.

Standard warns that the consequences of this project for the yellow zone are not only limited to the reduction of customs revenues, but it can also weaken the political position of the Democratic Party against Baghdad.

The report states: "If in the past the Ibrahim Khalil crossing was a lever of climate pressure against Baghdad, now Ovakoy and the new corridors are becoming a tool of pressure on Turkey and Iraq to stifle the economy of the yellow zone."

In the end, this report emphasized that the continuation of this process may turn the Ibrahim Khalil crossing from an international strategic route into a local border of little importance and lead to the destruction of its revenues.