Erdogan bashes Kurdistan, Israel, Myanmar, UN and EU

Erdogan reiterated his call on Kurdistan's President Masoud Barzani to step back from the vote already underway as he spoke.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Kurdistan Region's Monday referendum on independence from Iraq was null and threatened an army action as he denounced the Israeli support for Kurdish statehood.

Erdogan accused Kurdistan leadership of being opportunistic, saying what Iraq needed was unity and all options including the use of military was on the table to crush Kurdish aspirations.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had earlier in the day ruled out any possibility of war with Kurdistan.

Erdogan reiterated his call on Kurdistan's President Masoud Barzani to step back from the vote already underway as he spoke.

 

A woman casts her vote at a polling station during Kurdistan's independence referendum in Kirkuk, Sept 25, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)
A woman casts her vote at a polling station during Kurdistan's independence referendum in Kirkuk, Sept 25, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

He once again labeled a fledgling Kurdish-led autonomy in northern Syria where US-backed forces have liberated from the Islamic State (IS) group a "terrorist state" that could not be tolerated to exist.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's coming to the defense of Kurdistan Region's prospects of independence earlier this month was a factor in deteriorating ties with his country, Erdogan told an audience at a convention of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul.

"Tell Mr. Netanyahu that we are standing at opposing sides. How can our relations be in good shape while he is the only one recognizing the [referendum] of the Regional Administration of Northern Iraq? Tell him to abandon the support," Erdogan said.

Erdogan also criticized the UN over the permanent membership of only the five states of China, France, Russia, UK, the US in its security council which he said needed reform.

In his speech televised by the state TV, Erdogan separately targeted the European Union (EU) over a decades-long negotiation process with Turkey which he said was unfair.

He praised Iran's President Hassan Rouhani for showing up at a meeting at UN headquarters in New York alongside him to discuss the Muslim Rohingya minority's plight at the hands of Myanmar's army.

 

Editing by Ava Homa