Since the flights between Germany and Urumiyah have started, the Habour border gate lost its importance as a transit gate between the world and the Kurdish-held province of northern Iraq, well-placed sources said. 

Ankara - Turkish Daily News 
May 18, 2002

SAADET ORUC 
A senior Turkish military official is on a visit to northern Iraq to meet with the leaders of the Iraqi Kurdish factions, the Turkish Daily News (TDN) was told. 

Gen. Nevzat Bekaroglu, who is the head of the Special Teams, was in Ser-u-rash, Salahaddin, the headquarters of Massoud Barzani-led Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to meet with the KDP leader. 

For months, there were problems between the KDP and the Turkish military and despite the repeated invitations from Ankara, the KDP leader Barzani has not visited Turkey. 

An improvement was visible in ties between Ankara and rival factions Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). 

After two-day-long talks, Gen. Bekaroglu went to the Jalal Talabani-led Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)-controlled Suleimania. 

Since the flights between Germany and Urumiyah have started, the Habour border gate lost its importance as a transit gate between the world and the Kurdish-held province of northern Iraq, well-placed sources said. 

"After landing in Urumiyah, passengers take a two-hour-long drive by special buses and transportation is no longer a problem," sources said. 

Not only physically, but also politically, Turkey was due to lose its role as a bridge to northern Iraq, especially when the leaders of the PUK and the KDP met in Germany last month. 

According to the comments of the Iraqi Kurdish sources, Ankara became aware of the fact that it was being excluded from the ongoing process and also realized the determination of Washington to change the regime in Baghdad. 

"Turkey was trying to work on the Turkomans. Later, it was seen that the Iraqi Turkomans were only there by name. And Ankara realized that the United States is determined to change the regime. Now, Ankara does not want to be excluded from the process," an Iraqi Kurdish official said.