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Kurdistan Region Parliament to hold 1st session within 10 days
In an exclusive statement to PUKmedia website Tariq Jawhar, the Media Adviser of the Speaker of Kurdistan Region Parliament said that the Presidency of the Parliament will call on the members to attend the 1st session within 10 days.
Jawhar also said that the summer recess of the Parliament ended on August 31 but it’s not necessary the 1st session to be on September 1.
http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...13098&Itemid=1
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Iraqi Kurdistan suspends DNO's Oil Operations
The authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan said on Monday they were suspending for six weeks the oilfield operations of Norwegian oil exploration firm DNO International. The Kurdistan Regional Government said in a statement on its website that reports out of Norway had done it "unjustifiable and incalculable harm" but provided no further details. It demanded DNO remedy the damage done to the KRG's reputation.
"All oil exports will cease and DNO shall not be entitled to any economic interest in the (Kurdish oil contracts) during the suspension period," Kurdish natural resources minister Ashti Hawrami said in the statement, which was also published on DNO's website.
Contacted by telephone while travelling overseas, Hawrami declined to elaborate.
DNO is one of several foreign companies that has signed deals with the KRG to develop the semi-autonomous northern Iraqi region's oilfields. The agreements are opposed by the federal Iraqi government, which has called them illegal, but in a shift Baghdad in June started to allow exports to flow from two Kurdish fields. One of the fields, Tawke, which is producing 40,000 barrels per day to 50,000 bpd, was developed by DNO. The other, Taq Taq, was developed by Swiss explorer Addax Petroleum, recently bought by China's Sinopec, and Turkish firm Genel Enerji.
DNO said it strongly rejected a decision by the Oslo Stock Exchange to publicize information related to the sale of treasury shares by the company in October 2008.
It accused the exchange of breaching its confidentiality obligations by releasing the information, causing the media to publish "speculative, misleading and incorrect information" that also harmed DNO's reputation.
"DNO is now considering initiating legal actions against OSE for damages as a result of wilful breach of confidentiality. The claim for damages may be substantial," the company said in a statement on its website.
The Oslo bourse declined to comment. "No comment on this tonight. We will discuss this issue tomorrow," a spokesman said.
On Sept 19, the KRG issued a statement saying it had facilitated DNO's treasury shares transaction with the intention of helping DNO to raise the capital required for its projects in the Kurdish region.
"We wish to make it absolutely clear that neither the KRG nor any of its ministries, officials, employees or advisers has benefited directly or indirectly, through DNO or Genel Enerji, from the transaction or subsequent resale of the shares referred to by OSE," it said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssE...L9806020090921
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DNO International Suspension Extended Amid Kurdistan Dispute
Sept. 22 (Bloomberg) -- DNO International ASA’s suspension on the Oslo exchange was extended through tomorrow after the Kurdistan Regional Government halted the company’s operations for six weeks and demanded it clear its name in a dispute with the bourse.
Trading was suspended yesterday at 3:56 p.m. local time and will remain in effect through tomorrow, the exchange said today in a statement.
The Kurdistan Ministry of Natural Resources in a letter informed DNO its operations would be halted for a maximum six weeks and said the company needs to “remedy, and to our full satisfaction, the damage done to the KRG reputation and for once and all to sort its internal problems” with the exchange.
“All oil exports will cease and DNO shall not be entitled to any economic interest” during the suspension, Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami said in the letter. In a separate statement, DNO said it “will explore all options available to protect the interests of DNO shareholders.”
The exchange last week disclosed that the authority, which administers the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish area in Iraq, acted as a middleman in a transaction of 43 million shares of DNO last year and earlier this year. DNO had sought to keep the authorities’ role in the deal undisclosed.
“We don’t know how it will impact results as we don’t know how long production is going to be shut down,” Mark Edwards, a company spokesman based in London, said by phone. “They’re already trying to arrange a meeting with the KRG and there are ongoing talks with the Oslo Stock Exchange to try and get this resolved.”
Exchange Investigation
The Kurdish region started exporting crude under an agreement with Iraq’s central government in June. DNO, the first foreign company to pump oil in Iraq since 1972, started exports on June 1 from its Tawke field in the Kurdistan region. DNO started exports June 1 from its Tawke field and is delivering 45,000 barrels a day through a pipeline to Ceyhan in Turkey.
The exchange started a probe after DNO sold Treasury shares to an unknown buyer in October 2008. The investigation found that the transaction was arranged between the minister and DNO Chief ****utive Officer Helge Eide.
The regional government on Sept. 19 said it brokered the transaction as the administration in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq sought to help the Norwegian oil explorer’s investments.
DNO in April disclosed that Genel Enerji AS was the buyer of the 43 million shares, or 4.8 percent of the company, and was fined in June by the bourse for not revealing the identity of the buyer sooner. After an appeal, the Stock Exchange Appeals Committee last week ruled that DNO didn’t break rules on dealing with insider information. It upheld a ruling that the company had breached regulations in not being sufficiently forthcoming with information to the exchange.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=a71Ic2cSxn6Q
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Kurdistan Regional Government opens new Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) inaugurated its new headquarters in Washington, D.C., at 1532 16th Street, NW on 17 September, further underscoring its commitment to maintain and deepen its relationship with the United States and to help its friends 'Know Kurdistan.'
Led by the KRG Representative to the United States, Qubad J. Talabani, the KRG Headquarters will be the hub to provide testimony, education and guidance on a wide range of issues and opportunities, while working to meet the KRG's goals and priorities as part of Iraq.
One of the office's key missions is to promote ongoing, multi-level consultations on all aspects of relations between the KRG and U.S. government entities.
The office also focuses on encouraging foreign investment, promoting knowledge and understanding of the people living in the Kurdistan Region; facilitating political, cultural and educational visits; and cultivating educational links.
The new headquarters also will be the center for future intellectual, cultural and social activities highlighting the area.
"The opening of this permanent headquarters for the Kurdistan Regional Government on historic 16th Street is a proud day for our citizens and a milestone in our continuing friendship with the United States," Qubad Talabani, the KRG representative to the United States, said.
"Our new headquarters is the symbolic foundation of our respect and determination to be a fully engaged, reliable partner of the United States in making our region of the world safe, prosperous and a place where democracy can thrive," Talabani said. "We look to our mission to be a center of learning for both Americans and those from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq - we are learning more to help us along our path to democracy, while Americans and other visitors get to know Kurdistan as it truly is."
The Kurdistan Regional Government is the constitutionally recognized governing body of the provinces of Erbil, Dohuk and Sulaimania. The stability of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and its democratic foundation have allowed it to achieve a high level of political and economic development, while providing security for its citizens and those visiting and investing in the region. Since 2003 not one foreigner has been killed or injured in the Kurdistan Region.
The KRG also has made strong strides toward fulfilling the human rights and democratic goals of its leaders, including implementing the most progressive press freedom law in the region. In its July regional election, more women were elected to serve in the regional parliament than anywhere else in the Middle East as well as in most European and North American nations.
Designed by the Victorian architect Thomas Franklin Schneider (1859-1938) and originally built in 1910, the new KRG Headquarters is a step into history along one of Washington, D.C.'s most storied streets, just blocks north of the White House. Sixteenth Street's early history stems from its close proximity to the White House.
It is one of the most important numbered streets in the city, and a major element of the L'Enfant Plan. The Sixteenth Street corridor contains an impressive mix of residential and commercial buildings, representing a myriad of styles centered on the Victorian era and turn of the century building stock.
By the 1890's, the street became a fashionable residential district. Churches and other community and national institutions established their headquarters along the street at the same time. Generally, from the 1870's to the 1920's, the building styles include Queen Anne, Richardson Romanesque, Beaux Arts Classicism, Victorian, and Italianate .These large buildings, along with the residential structures, give Sixteenth Street it varied and distinct look today.
The Sixteenth Street historic district was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The area around 1532 Sixteenth Street remains a beautiful and vibrant location, with unparalleled architectural treasures.
The KRG has restored the multi-leveled early twentieth century townhouse to modern standards, retaining the original masonry and reconstructed mosaic work. The interior houses a lounge and stateroom on the main floor with offices and accommodations above, and library and kitchen facilities on the lower level. Three fireplaces on the main floor boast mantles of carved marble, brick and wood.
The lounge and stateroom feature design elements original to the building set off by Venetian plaster walls, Italian leather and damask furniture and custom sideboards. A hand crafted plum mahogany table, floor to ceiling bay windows and Schonbek crystal chandelier are features of the stateroom.
Elaborately crowned columns and elegant plaster relief design by the grand stairway evoke the structure's old world sophistication and detail. Artwork will be a variety of original oil on canvas paintings from some of the region's most important and accomplished fine artists.
http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...13450&Itemid=1
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National Implications of the Kurdish Elections
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) parliament elected in July convened for the first time on August 20, ushering in a new political era in Iraqi Kurdistan.
While the bloc including the long-dominant Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) currently controls a majority of 59 out of 111 seats, the new Gorran (“Change”) Party has 26, and the Services and Reform bloc (including Islamists and socialists) has 13, in addition to a few seats won by smaller parties and 11 set aside for Turkoman and Christian minorities. Moreover, because Gorran is led by PUK founder Nawshirwan Mustapha and drew its votes mainly from PUK areas, the new situation is likely to spur calls for reform and leadership change within the PUK. That would make it a less reliable partner for the KDP, and will increase the likelihood of heated debate and multi-party bargaining in the parliament.
This political change in the KRG coincides with an important period in relations with the federal government in Baghdad, as Iraq prepares for national elections on January 16, 2010. It is not yet clear how large a role Kurds will play in the campaign. It is possible that Iraqi political campaigns will stress Arab nationalist themes at the expense of the Kurds, or alternatively that various factions will court Kurds, knowing they will need their votes in the new parliament.
At present, the scenario of other factions courting Kurds seems more likely. The KDP and PUK will contest the national elections as one list and Gorran will compete as another, but the two Kurdish blocs have agreed to pool their votes in the national parliament. This means that Kurds are likely to win some 50 out of 275 seats, which will likely be the largest single bloc in parliament. If electoral legislation is passed as it currently stands, the Kurds will also probably receive a seat on the three-member presidency council alongside a Shi’i Arab and a Sunni Arab representative, allowing them to veto legislation and prevent its passage unless parliament achieves the difficult task of mustering a two-thirds majority. These factors could make the Kurds an indispensable ally in forming the next Iraqi government, particularly if Arab factions remain divided along factional and sectarian lines.
While there is now less risk of an anti-Kurdish theme emerging in the coming elections, as well as strong potential for a post-electoral compromise on federal-KRG revenue sharing, agreeing on the joint administration of disputed territories will be more complex. The first problem to resolve is provincial elections in Kirkuk, the only governorate outside the KRG not included in the January 31, 2009 provincial elections. Kurdish groups were unable to obtain the holding a national census on October 24, 2009--the scheduled census has been cancelled due to the political sensitivity of the issue. The KDP and PUK now want to hold provincial elections in Kirkuk to coincide with the January 16, 2010 national elections. Turkoman and Arab groups in Kirkuk want a special elections law to be passed that allocates more seats on the provincial council to each ethnic group. Both sides appear to recognize that Kurds now significantly outnumber other ethnic groups in Kirkuk, though polling or voting in Kirkuk would be undermined by disagreements over who is eligible to register as a resident of the province.
International Role
Although the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq has convened a task force of senior federal and Kurdish leaders, the key external influence on federal-KRG issues remains the United States. The U.S. military presence in Iraq is due to decline during 2010 and largely disappear either at the beginning of 2011 (if the January 16, 2010 referendum rejects the U.S.-Iraq security agreement) or by the end of 2011 at the latest. This puts the United States under pressure to move the political process forward, and to prevent local clashes between Arabs and Kurds in the meantime.
When Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki came to Washington DC in July 2009, every U.S. official he met advised him to boost his political efforts to reach an accommodation with the Kurds. When a string of senior U.S. military leaders visited the KRG in late summer, they also strongly urged the Kurdish leadership to take steps to reduce tensions. These twin pressures – the political importance of the Kurds within Iraq as well as U.S. lobbying – induced Maliki to make his first visit to the KRG on August 2, where he publicly congratulated President Masoud Barzani on his re-election and made a well-received symbolic speech at Halabja, the site of 1988 chemical weapons attacks that killed more than 5,000 Kurdish civilians.
On August 18, Multinational Forces commander General Ray Odierno proposed a temporary increase in the presence of U.S. forces along the federal-KRG disputed internal border. This force would form tripartite U.S.-federal-Kurdish security headquarters along the disputed areas to coordinate security and reduce the risk of clashes between Arab and Kurdish security forces. Though smaller in scale, the idea resembles the U.S. surge of forces deployed to reduce sectarian violence in central Iraq in 2008.
Looking Ahead
The next year will be a critical moment in Iraqi federal-Kurdish relations. Some hard line advocates of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq believe that the KRG will eventually be better off without Iraq and will instead form military and economic ties with Turkey, providing Ankara with a stable southern border and an interlocutor in its struggle with Kurdish nationalism. Other Kurdish leaders such as KRG Prime Minister Barham Saleh have consistently looked to Baghdad as the KRG’s long-term partner. The new parliamentary balance in the KRG has potentially given more strength to Kurdish advocates of a compromise with Baghdad. Strong U.S. pressure is pushing towards a federal-KRG deal. The major Arab factions will probably need a Kurdish political ally to form a national government. These factors, combined, suggest that there may be hope for the beginning of an Arab-Kurdish compromise in 2010.
* Michael Knights is the Lafer International Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...13474&Itemid=1
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IHEC Source: Ready to hold referendum on Kurdistan Region Constitution
In a statement to PUKmedia Correspondent, Head of the Mass Communication office in the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) Abdel Rahman Khalifa emphasized that the commission is ready to carry out the referendum on Kurdistan Region Constitution in conjunction with the Parliamentary Elections in Iraq on January 16, 2010, in case of approving the referendum law and allocating the required budget.
http://pukmedia.com/english/index.ph...13477&Itemid=1
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DNO shares dive on potential loss of Iraq licences
Shares in Norwegian oil producer DNO International plunged as much as 55 percent on Thursday, on fears the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) may make a temporary suspension of its licences in the semi-autonomous Iraqi region permanent. DNO said it was in talks with the KRG to resolve the spat but analysts were unclear what the company could do to rectify the situation.
By 0953 GMT, shares in DNO were down 46.1 percent at 3.59 crowns -- knocking almost $500 million off its market value. The shares had been suspended since Monday due to the KRG dispute. Analysts at Credit Suisse said earlier this week, before the share collapse, that Kurdistan accounted for almost 75 percent of DNO's value.
The spat centres on the sale of 44 million DNO shares to the KRG, which later ended up in the hands of a privately-held Turkish company, Genel Energy. The KRG suspended DNO's licences after details of an Oslo Stock Exchange probe, which revealed the KRG's role, were made public. The KRG said the revelations had caused it 'unjustifiable and incalculable harm'. On Thursday, Norway's financial watchdog Kredittilsynet said it had asked the police to probe the share sale.
The row has undermined faith in licences signed between the KRG and western oil companies and led to fears for the future of a planned merger between Genel and Heritage Oil, another significant player in Kurdistan. It has also dented hopes that the region, which the KRG said has reserves of at least 40 billion barrels, will become a major oil producer and help Iraq meet its plans to boost oil output sharply in coming years.
APOLOGIES AND COMPENSATION
Analysts have said that it was not clear what DNO could do to rectify the situation with the KRG. RBC Capital Markets analyst Al Stanton wrote in a note dated Sept 22: 'Other than an apology from Oslo -- from the OSE (Oslo Stock Exchange) and DNO -- it is unclear how the situation can be rectified.'
'Any financial compensation, say an adjustment to DNO's Production Sharing Contract, would compound the issue, in our view, as it would further highlight the risk of 'fiscal creep'.
However, others said the KRG had an incentive to find a solution. 'Even with this conflict, the Kurds don't want to frighten away others from the region -- so both parties have an interest in resolving this,' said Marius Gaard from brokers Carnegie.
'But there is uncertainty about what kind of solution they can achieve to undo the claimed damages by the Kurdish side.'
Gaard said the present valuation prices in DNO gaining some compensation in the event its contract is terminated. DNO exports around 50,000 barrels per day from its Tawke oilfield in Kurdistan, but has still not received any revenues due to ongoing disputes between the KRG and central Baghdad authorities over the sharing oil receipts. The spat has also knocked shares in other foreign oil companies operating in Kurdish-controlled Iraq, such as Heritage Oil and Gulf Keystone.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009...fx6925113.html
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ANALYSIS-Graft main worry for investors in Iraq Kurdistan
A murky stock deal between Iraqi Kurdish officials and a foreign oil company has shone an embarrassing spotlight on widespread graft that may threaten investment and growth in the prosperous northern region.
Kurdish officials are not accused of breaking any laws, but their secret stock purchase from Norway's oil firm DNO International last year raises new doubts about the northern enclave's new initiative to curtail corruption, boost transparency and loosen close political ties to business.
Talk about widespread graft and the commercial clout of two parties dominating the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) could ultimately deter business in a region seen as a stable corner of a nation otherwise plagued by legal and security risk.
While the KRG rejects systematic corruption, it unveiled the drive before regional polls in July, when wide discontent gave opposition groups unprecedented gains in the Kurds' parliament.
No top officials have been charged of corruption, but ordinary Kurds say they need no proof of the failure to track money spent on public works, of contracts awarded to close associates rather than on the basis of competitive bidding or p.alms that need to be greased before deals can be closed.
"There's outright corruption: officials making money from contracts ... and the other one, which is more subtle: the way two political parties run the show. You have to belong to one to get jobs, to get influence," said Henri J. Barkey, analyst at Washington's Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The new initiative was thrust into the spotlight this week when the KRG suspended DNO's oil operations in Kurdistan due to a disclosure from Norway the KRG had bought DNO shares that were then passed on to DNO's Turkish partner Genel Enerji.
The transaction last October was not disclosed to the Oslo Stock Exchange, and Norway's financial watchdog has now urged a police investigation. The KRG says no officials benefited from the sale but said the flap caused it "unjustifiable ... harm"
"FRAUD, WASTE"
The KRG hired accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers to implement its new transparency strategy, a bid which reflects in part discontent from voters increasingly worried about at-home issues rather than age-old feuds with Baghdad over land and oil.
KRG officials admit it could be years before they root out a pervasive culture of graft, which some say is partly the result of an intersection of a traditional, tribal society based on patronage with modern institutions that handle big sums of cash.
"Some things that are seen as corrupt are very, very normal ... part of the natural culture here," Jhilwan Qazzaz, an advisor in the KRG prime minister's office, told Reuters.
"We're not looking at changing anything overnight. We're looking at the next 4-5 to 10 years, even ... Frankly, this is a brave step. There's going to be lots of opposition to it."
The KRG website says the aim of the initiative is "tackling corruption, fraud, waste and abuse" and wooing investors.
"We're going to draw a line in the sand and say 'From now on, this is the new way of working'", said Qazzaz. "Those that are not on board, we're going to be hitting you with the stick."
Yet analysts are sceptical of whether the ruling alliance of Kurdish President Masoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) really have the political will to go after anyone bigger than low-level, bribe-taking officials.
The two presidents hail from Kurdistan's two most powerful families, which are influential in business circles.
Foreign investors complain of having to partner with local firms which invariably have strong ties to one of them.
"Corruption ... is part of the ruling elite's way of doing business," said Toby Dodge, an Iraq expert at the University of London. "To actually stop the corruption surrounding the two dominant families would be to put their survival in doubt."
Dodge said Washington, from which Kurds still feel they need protection after Saddam's persecution, could pressure reform.
There are also new internal pressures. Change, an opposition group led by Noshirwan Mustafa, was virtually unknown until it won a quarter of seats in parliament on an anti-graft message.
KRG officials deny cronyism and blame a few bad a.pples.
"The issue is exaggerated," said Mohammed Ihsan, KRG minister for extra-regional affairs. "Any country where you have such rapid change, expect some corruption. As political parties, KDP and PUK are not going to give someone a high position like a minister if he's not in the party. That's normal everywhere."
Ultimately, Kurdistan's best hope could be the incoming Prime Minister, Barham Salih, a widely respected former Iraqi deputy PM who has been vocal about the need to curb graft.
"He's clean as a whistle," said Barkey. "That the opposition did well in a way strengthens his hand. He'll be able say: look, we got almost hung by these guys because of corruption and I need to do something about it."
http://www.reuters.com/article/lates.../idUSCOC463119
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Economic expert criticizes the banking system in Kurdistan
Economic expert described the banking system in the Kurdistan region that is not healthy, banks, mutual funds are similar to normal, and the manager believes one of the banks that the banks exercised non-governmental role. The economist said Mohammed Saeed told the Kurdistan News (AKnews) that "the particular importance of the banks, they collect the funds that are scattered, but not the collection process that was to benefit from those funds, it must be a party to preserve those funds and pay them to the labor market."
He explained that "there is in the Kurdistan region banking system healthy and properly, and banks in the region currently serve as a fund to collect money, plain, without fulfilling its mission as fully as they are of little use in the field of investment."
In this regard, "said Dilshad Abdul Majid, Director of Bank of Kurdistan, that the" community banks in the region of great importance, is to provide services that were provided today by the State banks, and most important of these services, transfer of funds from abroad to home and from abroad into the country. "
For his part, "said Abid Group of Companies owner Hawrami Court that" there are no banks in the region within which indicates the aiding and make it easier, therefore, our banks are ineffective, people are reluctant to deal with it. "
The owner of a group of companies to the Court that "his relations with the banks from outside the region for nearly 15 years and I felt that differ widely between banks and banks outside the region, ranging from the granting of loans and access to benefits and rapid implementation of banking operations."
http://translate.googleusercontent.c...6u4aQjSO8Y-x0Q
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27/09/09
Kurds want full disclosure in DNO shares row - aide
Iraq's Kurdish authorities did not benefit from trading shares in Norwegian oil company DNO International and are seeking full disclosure of the transactions to help rectify their reputation, a senior aide has said.
"We haven't made any financial gain at all, it's more of a headache for us now," said Khalid Salih, in Oslo to put forward the KRG's position in the dispute, which has been front-page news in Norway over the past week.
The largely autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) said last Monday it was suspending DNO's operations for up to six weeks and may kick DNO out for good, after the release of details of a 2008 stock deal between the KRG and DNO.
The KRG said the release caused it "unjustifiable and incalculable harm" and accused the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE) of revealing selective information about the deals that painted the Kurdish authorities in a bad light.
The dispute, which the KRG said it is hopeful of resolving, threatens to taint the regional government's business-friendly image and could deter potential oil investors.
"The Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE) was selective with their information and should have asked us to clarify right from the start, instead of speculating who may be behind the deals," said Salih, who hopes to meet with bourse officials on Monday.
"We want complete disclosure and a fair and transparent process. We need to see it rectify the damage done to us," he told Reuters.
The OSE has repeatedly said it has done nothing wrong.
DNO has threatened to sue the bourse and move its listing to another exchange, an idea welcomed by Salih as part of a solution.
"If DNO wanted to (leave the OSE), we would certainly support them because obviously there is a problem in their relationship with the stock exchange," he said. "As far as KRG is concerned, that would be a very good solution for us."
DNO is due on Monday to give its first news conference since the affair began nearly a week ago.
Some 44 million DNO shares were sold to the KRG and ended up in the hands of privately-held Turkish company Genel Energy, which is in the process of merging with Heritage Oil - a London-listed oil company active in Kurdistan.
"At this stage we are not in a position to say what we will be satisfied with, because we need to understand more. We need to have dialogue with the OSE to see why they have behaved the way they did," said Salih.
At a news conference on Sunday, Salih showed bank documents and e-mails he said proved the KRG did not use its potential knowledge of key regulatory developments for DNO when trading its shares. Norway's financial sector watchdog has asked for an investigation of the transactions by the Norwegian police.
Salih said the KRG bought the DNO shares in October 2008 as a middleman on behalf of Genel to help both firms at a time when financing was tough and they did not have export permits.
"The gains and losses (on the trades) are Genel's," he said.
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/56867...res-row---aide