Turkey, Iraq reiterate rejection of Kurdistan referendum

ANKARA, Oct 25 (KUNA) -- Turkey and Iraq jointly reiterated Wednesday their rejection of the Kurdistan independence referendum.
The Kurdish referendum, held on September 25, saw Iraqi Kurds overwhelmingly voting in favor of a split from Iraq.
The Kurdistan region ignored Turkey's warnings prior to the referendum's due date, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in joint press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi in Ankara.
Erdogan expressed his sorrow over the referendum and his country's rejection of the process since its beginning, stressing the importance of uniting Iraqi territories.
Turkey, Iraq, and Iran took steps in the wake of the Kurdistan independence vote, he said, adding that these steps have recently reached a "positive" stage.
Turkish-Iraqi communications are still ongoing regarding border crossings and implementation of oil pipelines between the two countries, said Erdogan.
Iraq will coordinate with Turkey on all procedures involving borders and oil pipelines, the Turkish President said, pointing out the two countries' solid and historic ties.
Meanwhile, Erdogan expressed his hope in increasing the trade exchange volume with Baghdad to over USD nine billion, which was attained last year.
He also lauded Iraqi government's recent firm steps to cleanse its cities from the control of the so-called Islamic State (IS), expressing his confidence in the Iraqi forces to liberate rest of the cities from IS.
Erdogan also reiterated his country's willingness to cooperate with Iraq in combating the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), adding PKK used the ongoing chaos in Iraq to deploy its elements in northern cities of Sinjar and Qandil.
He expressed also his hope to see a prosperous Iraq once again, affirming Ankara's readiness to provide all sorts of support for the stability and security of Iraq and the whole region.
For his part, Al-Abadi mentioned his government attempted to stop the Kurdistan referendum vote, adding that the process was merely one-sided and held without any "respect" to the Iraqi people.
Some parties tried to use the referendum to re-divide Iraq and redraw borders with arms and power, the Iraqi Premier said, affirming his government's duty to protect all citizens regardless of their ethnic and religious backgrounds.
So far, the Iraqi government achieved major victories over IS and was able to re-enforce the law on most of Iraqi territories, he noted.
The terrorist group committed countless atrocities in Iraq, including killing large number of citizens and destroying the country's infrastructure, said Al-Abadi.
He said his government would not allow any armed groups other than official forces operate on Iraqi lands.
Al-Abadi also affirmed his government's commitment to ensure the territorial integrity of Iraq and fight all terrorist organizations.
Iraq and Turkey are part of a conflict-stricken region, he said, noting the time has come for Iraqi-Turkish cooperation to halt these conflicts and consolidate anti-terrorism efforts.
"We don't want any country to intervene in our personal interests. We must be a source of hope to our young people," said Al-Abadi.
He called to revive hope prospects for young people, who make up 60 percent of the region, by offering them job opportunities and keeping them away from extremism.
Moreover, Al-Abadi expressed his aspiration to build a solid and deep relationship with the Turkish government and people. (end) rs.ma