Turkey joins Iraq in demanding cancellation of Kurdistan referendum

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) - Ankara on Thursday called on the Kurdistan Region authorities to cancel the results of last month's referendum on independence from Iraq, aligning with the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the Kurdish government's proposal to freeze the results to prevent further military confrontation and pave the way for negotiations with Baghdad was not satisfying for Ankara.

"Northern Iraq's step back is important but not enough. [The result] of this referendum must be canceled," he said during a joint Ankara press conference with his Kosovar counterpart Behgjet Pacolli.

In the September 25 referendum, 92.7 percent approved Kurdistan’s independence from Iraq, giving the Kurdish leadership a mandate to conduct negotiations with Baghdad for an amicable separation.

Erbil's calls for dialogue have met with an army offensive joined by Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) the Hashd al-Shaabi which swiftly captured the city of Kirkuk two weeks ago due to Kurdish military discord.

Cavusoglu said his country was expecting Kurdistan Region, whose name he refrained from using, to comply with Iraqi demands that include a handover of border crossings and airports.

He touched upon an Ankara-Baghdad plan to open a new border crossing where Turkey's border converge with that of Iraq and Syria, currently under assault by the PMF as Peshmerga forces resist.

On Kosovo, Cavusoglu said the security and stability of the partially recognized republic were of paramount importance to his country.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, with backing from the US and Turkey, two countries that fiercely oppose Kurdistan's vote and quest for statehood.

Editing by Sam A.