Iraq's Maliki threatens to cut funds if Kurds pipe oil to Turkey

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks at a United States Institute of Peace (USIP) forum on Iraq's transition in Washington October 31, 2013. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki threatened on Sunday to cut central government funding for Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region if the Kurds pursued a drive to pipe oil exports to Turkey without Baghdad's approval.

The Kurdistan Regional Government said last week that crude had begun to flow to Turkey and exports were expected to start at the end of this month and then rise in February and March.