Iraq, Turkey, Iran to coordinate countermeasures to Kurdistan referendum

Iraq, Turkey and Iran have agreed to consider coordination over countermeasures to the Kurdistan referendum on secession from Iraq scheduled for Monday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari said.

A statement issued by Al-Jaafari’s office said yesterday: “The Foreign Ministers of Iraq, Ibrahim Al-Jaafari, Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu and Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif have held a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss the Kurdish planned referendum.”

According to the statement, the three ministers have “confirmed their strong commitment to maintaining Iraq’s political unity, territorial integrity and expressed concern about the planned referendum”.

The statement stressed that the referendum “jeopardises Iraq’s great and difficult victories against Daesh”.

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The referendum was unconstitutional, the ministers added, and will cause conflicts in the region that are difficult to contain.

They also categorically rejected and opposed the referendum and stressed the need to urge the Kurdish leadership to cancel it.

“The three ministers stressed that the referendum will not benefit the Kurds, and agreed to coordinate countermeasures against the referendum,” the statement said without giving details.