(VOI) - Turkey expressed concerns on Kurdish claims of annexing Kirkuk to the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan. "Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced his concerns to President Jalal Talabani about Kirkuk's local council request to annex Kirkuk to Kurdistan region", said a president office statement received by Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq (VOI).
Fighting Kurdish fighters in its south-eastern region, Turkey opposes Kurdish claims to annex Kirkuk, where Kurds, Arab and Turkmen-one of the Turkish languages-struggle over the identity of the oil-rich city. The announcement pointed out "the Turkish PM expressed his support to give 32% share to the city's main denominations and 4% to its Chado-Assyrians (Christian) minority".
On Thursday, 24 Kurdish members of Kirkuk's local council requested annexing Kirkuk to Kurdistan's region amid staunch opposition from Arab and Turkmen members. "The step did not mean joining Kurdistan's region but underscored the threat in case parliamentary blocs and the Kurdish Coalition could not reach an agreement on the provincial polls law," the statement cited Talabani as saying. The Iraqi president emphasized the importance of "reaching accordance among Kirkuk's ethnicities in tandem with his quest to strike a deal among Iraq's denominations". |