The capture of the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain near the Turkish border by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) from al-Qaeda-linked Islamist groups has activated Ankara’s Kurdish phobia once again, given the close ties between the PYD and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been waging a campaign of terror in Turkey for autonomy.

Turkey’s age-old fear is that any political advances toward autonomy or independence by the Kurds in contiguous regions near its border will also encourage separatism among its own restive Kurds. Turkish-Kurdish relations, however, are proving to be more complex than meets the eye. Ankara’s fears about Kurdish political ambitions has not prevented the growing energy ties between Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), even if this cooperation could be paving the way to independence for Iraqi Kurds.

Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, remain at odds over how to share Iraqi oil and gas revenues despite recent friendly overtures between KRG President Massoud Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. These overtures peaked with the visit by Maliki to Erbil on June 9 and the return visit to Baghdad by Barzani on July 7.

It was agreed during these contacts to form a series of joint committees to study the sources of disagreement between the sides on territorial, energy and budgetary issues and provide advice on how solve them. Results are still coming, but few on either side are bracing themselves for any major breakthroughs. Meanwhile, the KRG continues to push its independent plans for its oil reserves unabated.