Alwaght- Turkey has warned that any disintegration of neighboring Iraq could ignite a conflict of global proportions.
During a Tuesday speech in Ankara,T urkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli described the planned referendum as a major risk for his country and underlined Turkey’s determination to take "every step" to thwart any similar measure in its southeast Kurdish areas.
"A change that will mean the violation of Iraq's territorial integrity poses a major risk for Turkey," Canikli said.
"The disruption of Syria and Iraq's territorial integrity will ignite a bigger, global conflict with an unseen end," he added.
The Iraqi Kurds plan to hold the referendum on September 25 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.
On Monday, Iraq’s top court temporarily suspended the Kurdish independence referendum, saying it “issued a national order to suspend the referendum procedures ... until the resolution of the cases regarding the constitutionality of said decision.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also formally asked the Kurdish officials to halt the process.
Last week, Iraqi Kurdish lawmakers approved holding the secession vote in the face of fierce opposition from the central government in Baghdad.
The United Nations as well as regional powers like Iran and Turkey have also expressed concerns about the planned referendum by the semi-autonomous KRG, arguing that it could create further instability in the already volatile region.
