Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has told Iraqi counterpart that Ankara welcomes the Iraqi Curt decision that cancelled the outcome of the Kurdish vote on independence held in September 2017. Photo: AA
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has praised the cancellation of Kurdistan's independence vote by Iraq's Federal Court.
The Turkish premier spoke by phone with his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi discussing relations between their two governments and the ill-fated Kurdistan referendum, among other issues.
"Yildirim expressed his delight over the decision of the Iraqi Supreme Federal Court regarding the referendum of the Kurdistan Region," the Kurdish service of Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday, citing sources from the Turkish presidency.
There was no immediate statement from the office of the Iraqi prime minister.
Abadi thanked Yildirim for Turkey's respect for the territorial integrity of Iraq, saying he valued their relations that will help the stability of the region.
The two sides also emphasized their cooperation "in the fight against terrorism."
Turkey regularly carries out cross-border airstrikes against targets of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a named terrorist organization. The PKK has its headquarters in Kurdistan Region's Qandil mountains. Turkey's air campaign against the group has resulted in civilian deaths.
The two countries have also said they share resources in the war against ISIS.
Abadi's comments to Yildirim are a change in tone from last year when he accused Ankara of a lack of respect for Iraq that was creating a security threat in the region after Turkey refused to withdraw its troops from the Bashiqa area where they were involved in training Peshmerga and Sunni forces.
Turkey has staunchly opposed Kurdistan's independence referendum.
In late October, Turkey's foreign minister while welcomed an offer from the KRG to freeze the results of the vote, but said Erbil must go further and cancel it. Yildirim, at the time, said the only way to "compensate for the damage" caused by the referendum was to annul it.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has not yet committed to respecting the court verdict, but have raised concerns about the conduct and legitimacy of the court.
Kurdistan's parliament has rejected the court ruling.
Turkey has enjoyed close security and economic relations with the Kurdistan Region for about a decade. In the wake of the referendum, it has supported punitive measures taken by Baghdad, such as the international flight ban and the deployment of Iraqi forces and Shiite militias to disputed areas.
With Kirkuk oil fields now under Baghdad's control, Turkey and Iraq are in talks to resume oil exports to the international market through Turkey's Ceyhan port. No concrete agreement has yet been made, mainly because Baghdad refuses to shoulder loans received by Erbil from Ankara, estimated to be about 4 billion dollars.
Ankara has also stated it they are willing to cooperate with Baghdad to impose Iraqi federal authority over Kurdistan's borders with Turkey.
In his phone call with Abadi, Yildirim expressed his condolences for the victims of the truck bombing that killed at least 35 people and injured many more on Tuesday in the multi-ethnic town of Tuz Khurmatu, and also for the victims of the earthquake that hit earlier this month.
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