Kurdistan’s offer to freeze referendum result will not redress damage: Turkey
Turkish authorities say an offer by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to freeze the results of last month’s independence referendum is not enough, saying the move would not compensate for the damage caused by the controversial vote.
“It is an important move that the northern Iraqi administration takes a step back, but it is not enough. This referendum should be canceled,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a press conference in Ankara on Thursday.
Turkey, a former close ally of the KRG, has aligned itself with the central Iraqi government and neighboring Iran to condemn the September 25 independence referendum in Kurdistan, a semi-autonomous region of Iraq. Opponents of the vote said that the referendum could cause further harm to Iraq and the entire Middle East at a time when the region is busy battling militancy.
The KRG, led by Massoud Barzani, finally bowed to increasing pressure on Wednesday and proposed “the freezing of the results of the referendum ... and the start of an open dialogue” on the basis of the constitution. The offer came after Kurdish paramilitary forces lost control of areas in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk to Iraqi forces last week.
Other Turkish officials also reacted to the KRG’s suspension offer, with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim saying freezing the results of the referendum would not redress the “devastation” the vote has caused in Iraq.
“The northern Iraq administration can take whatever decision it wants from now on, it is obvious the decisions will not produce a result that would compensate for the damage,” said Yildirim.
The Turkish premier said his country discussed an array of possible measures against Kurdistan during a visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to Ankara on Wednesday. Those measures include the closure of Turkey’s border with Kurdistan Region.
During his visit to Turkey, Abadi also received assurances from Turkish authorities about restoring a damaged pipeline that bypasses Kurdistan to transfer Iraq’s oil to Turkey. A current pipeline runs through the Kurdish territories.
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