BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Turkey’s top security body says an independence referendum planned by Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region "directly” threatens Turkish national security.
Turkey’s National Security Council held a meeting chaired by President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara to discuss the referendum planned by the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
In a closing statement, the council said the KRG’s insistence on holding the vote on Monday despite warnings from Ankara, Baghdad, and the United Nations would have "terrible consequences” for the region.
"The illegitimacy of the referendum… and its being unacceptable were once again specified. It was strongly stressed that this step, which directly threatens Turkey’s national security, was a grave mistake that threatens Iraq’s political unity and territorial integrity as well as peace, security and stability of the region,” the statement read.
Turkey, which is home to the largest Kurdish population in the region, fears that the Kurdistan plebiscite would embolden the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in its push for autonomy in Turkey’s southeastern areas.
President of Iraq's Kurdish region Massoud Barzani says the planned referendum will be held next week despite international warnings.
"The referendum is no longer in my hands, nor is it in those of the (political) parties, it is in your hands," he told a crowd of thousands in the regional capital of Erbil.
The controversial referendum on independence from the mainland is to take place on September 25.
Baghdad has condemned the plebiscite as unconstitutional, repeatedly calling on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to suspend the vote, which is planned to be held in three provinces that make up their region, as well as in disputed areas that are controlled by Kurdish forces but claimed by Baghdad, including the oil-rich Kirkuk province.
"We say that we are ready for serious open-minded dialogue with Baghdad, but after September 25, because now it is too late," Barzani said.
He said the fight against the Daesh terrorist group in partnership with the Iraqi military would "continue" despite the referendum.
The remarks come a day after the UN Security Council warned that the referendum was potentially "destabilizing” and threatened the ongoing war against Daesh.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Saturday that his country’s steps in response to the planned independence referendum will have security, diplomatic, political and economic dimensions.
He was speaking to reporters before a session of Turkey’s parliament on Saturday afternoon to vote on extending a mandate that authorizes Turkish troop deployments to Iraq and Syria.
Asked if a cross-border operation was among the options, Yildirim said: "Naturally, it is a question of timing as to when security, economic and security options are implemented. Developing conditions will determine that.”