Turkey warned on Aug. 16 that plans of the leadership in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hold a referendum on independence could lead to civil war, in Ankara’s strongest warning yet against next month’s poll. Hurriyet Daily News reports.
“In that country (Iraq), which has been through so many problems, a referendum on independence can make the situation even worse,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told the state TRT Haber broadcaster.
“God forbid, it could even bring it to civil war,” he added.
Meanwhile, Next month’s planned referendum on Iraqi Kurdish independence violates Iraq’s constitution and will further destabilize the region, Turkish government spokesman Bekir Bozdağ said on Aug. 15.
The KRG has said it will go ahead with the referendum on independence on Sept. 25 despite concerns from Iraq’s neighbors, and a U.S. request to postpone it.
“The referendum would contribute to instability in the region,” Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdağ said at a news conference after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, adding the decision to go ahead with the vote “violates the constitution of Iraq.”
The U.S. State Department has said it is concerned that the referendum in northern Iraq will distract from “more urgent priorities” such as the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak also had said the referendum would harm energy cooperation with northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), which pumps hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day to Turkey’s Ceyhan export terminal.