Istanbul ( CNN ) -- A Kurdistan Regional Government spokesman expressed hope Wednesday that only a temporary `` technical issue '' led the Iraqi government to deny permission for Turkey 's energy minister to fly to the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq . Energy Minister Taner Yildiz 's plane was forced to turn around in mid-flight Tuesday . He was in a private plane flying to Irbil , the Kurdistan region 's capital , to attend a three-day conference on oil and gas . `` We had applied for flight permits . We were issued one , and the plane was on the move , '' said a Turkish foreign ministry official , speaking on condition of anonymity due to government protocol . `` But in the meantime we were notified by the Iraqis that they have banned all VIP flights to Northern Iraq . '' But Kurdistan Regional Government spokesman Safeen Dizayee told CNN on Wednesday that officials there hope the denial was only temporary . `` There are new regulations by the central government for private planes to enter Iraqi airspace , and apparently energy minister 's plane had not complied with the new regulations '' Dizayee said . `` Iraqi airspaces are completely controlled by the central government . The cabin crew of the Turkish minister 's plane was directly in touch with Baghdad to get permission and Kurdistan Regional Government has no control on it '' he added . `` We hope it is only a technical issue and it will be resolved soon , '' he said . Opinion : Why U.S. should rethink policy over Syria 's Kurds . Iraqi government officials have not commented on the aborted flight . The incident came at a time of heightened tension between Ankara and Baghdad . Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Iraqi counterpart , Nuri al-Maliki , have engaged in a public war of words , accusing each other of pushing their respective countries towards civil war . For months , Turkey has also offered sanctuary to Iraq 's fugitive vice president , Tarek al-Hashemi , who was sentenced to death in absentia by an Iraqi court for murder . And last August , the Iraqi central government loudly objected after Turkey 's foreign minister made a short visit from Iraqi Kurdistan to the contested oil-rich city of Kirkuk , apparently without Baghdad 's permission . Iraqi Kurds have witnessed a remarkable reversal over the past decade , as Turkey has gone from being a major adversary to being one of the Kurdistan Regional Government 's largest trading partners . `` To ensure access to Kurdish oil and gas , Turkey has eased its trade , economic , diplomatic relations with the KRG . Even in some cases , it has acted as the protector of the Kurds in Northern Iraq , '' wrote Yerevan Saeed , an Iraqi Kurdish energy security analyst at Tufts University . `` This has made both Baghdad and Tehran angry , and they have been trying to limit Turkish influence , '' Saeed added , referring to Iran , another regional player that is seen by many observers as one of the chief patrons of the Baghdad government . The intrigues in Iraq have been complicated by the fact that relations are also deteriorating between al-Maliki 's government and the Iraqi Kurds . The Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government have been at odds for years over who has final authority over Iraq 's vast oil wealth . In recent weeks , that tension has flared around Kirkuk . Last month , Iraqi Kurdistan deployed troops and tanks to cement the Kurds ' claim over the strategic city . The Kurdish forces have been engaged in a tense standoff with units of the Iraqi Army , which were recently deployed to areas near Kirkuk . NATO : 'Do n't even think about attacking Turkey '
Kurdish spokesman : `` We hope it is only a technical issue and it will be resolved soon '' Energy Minister Taner Yildiz 's plane was forced to turn around in mid-flight Tuesday . He was on his way to a conference in the Kurdish region in northern Iraq . The incident comes at a time of heightened tension between Ankara and Baghdad .