Kurdistan Region asks Russia to avoid its airspace

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) - The cabinet of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq called on the Russian government Wednesday to find alternative routes "as soon as possible" for its rockets passing over Kurdish airspace.

In a statement released on its website, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) demanded cooperation with Kurdish and Iraqi authorities and called on the Russian government to refrain from using the Region's airspace in training its rockets on Islamic State (IS) targets in Syria. The KRG cabinet said that it welcomed any operation against the IS militants, "But this shouldn't become the cause to shut down Erbil and Sulaimani airports [in Kurdistan]", it added.

The international airports in Erbil and Sulaimani have intermittently been closed to all inbound and outbound flights by Iraq's Civil Aviation Authority last month and last week due to the risk Russian-fired rockets pose to civil airplanes. Russia has been targeting Islamic State group and Syrian rebels with rockets and cruise missiles from its warships in the Caspian Sea since early October. These rockets pass over northwest Iran and the Kurdistan Region before reaching Syria.

The KRG statement said that the repeated closures of its airspace have led to "huge economic losses" in tourism and business.

The statement concluded that "at a time when the war against ISIS terrorists is going on, the budget share of Kurdistan Region has been cut by Baghdad, and the oil prices are falling" suspension of flights into and out of Kurdistan is yet another setback for the Kurdish economy.