Amid historical changes in the balance of power in the Middle East, at least one thing remains constant: the strategic importance of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region’s reconstruction minister on Tuesday criticised the federal government for excluding the Kurdish region in the strategic Development Road between Baghdad and Ankara.

The Iraqi parliament is set to convene on Sunday to vote on an amendment to the budget law proposed by the federal government which could lead to the resumption of Kurdistan Region’s oil exports.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged for a unified effort to combat Islamic State and Kurdish militants after his Baghdad talks. Turkey, branding the YPG and PKK as terrorists, seeks regional support and new cooperation strategies.

Turkey vowed on Saturday to work closely with Iraq to secure their common frontier after two Iraqi border guards were killed in a shooting blamed on outlawed PKK militants.

Turkey often carries out ground and air operations in northern Iraq against positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.

For millions of years, as the Arabian and Eurasian continental plates have drifted toward each other, the underground ancient seabed that lay between them – called the Neotethys oceanic plate – has been forced deeper into the Earth. When the plates finally collided, their edges crumpled and rose, forming the Zagros Mountains.

An international research team has investigated the influence of the forces exerted by the Zagros Mountains in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on how much the surface of the Earth has bent over the last 20 million years.

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Iran's loss of influence in Lebanon and Syria has helped to spark a shift in attitude among Arab leaders.

While Baghdad recently listed the PKK as a banned organisation, Ankara has called on Iraq to formally designate the group as a terrorist organisation.