The FMs met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting on Wednesday and then released a joint statement.
The three ministers “expressed their concern that the planned referendum by the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] ... puts Iraq’s hard-earned gains against DAESH under great risk,” the statement read using a different name for the ISIS group.
The Iraqi and Kurdish security forces launched a joint military offensive against ISIS in the northern parts of the country, in particular Mosul, which was liberated in July following a nine-month long fight.
It added that the vote to take place only five days from now is “unconstitutional,” and “runs the risk of provoking new conflicts in the region, that will prove difficult to contain.”
The statement explained that the three countries have stated “their unequivocal opposition to the referendum.”
They warned they will take “counter-measures in coordination” against Erbil.
Iran and Turkey, Kurdistan’s neighbours, have their own Kurdish populations and face armed struggles by Kurdish groups that seek greater cultural and national rights for millions of Kurds living in their countries.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who had previously threatened to use military force against the Kurdish bid for independence, stated Tuesday that they oppose a Kurdish referendum “now or in future.” He held a phone call with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this week where the two said that they are on the same page when it comes to the protection of Iraq's territorial integrity.
Erdogan said Wednesday that his country is considering sanctions against the Kurdistan Region if the vote goes ahead. Turkey’s National Security Council is to convene Friday in order to discuss the referendum and afterwards will announce its final official stance.
“We have said Iraq must never be partitioned,’’ Erdogan said, according to Bloomberg.
Erdogan had said earlier that he sent Turkey’s head of intelligence Hakan Fidan to Erbil to advise against the move, “to say ‘don’t ever fall into this mistake,’’’ the Turkish president said Wednesday. “Unfortunately they have made this mistake.’’
Erbil and Ankara have enjoyed good economic and security relations for more than a decade, and Turkey is the main lifeline for Erbil as the Kurdish government exports its oil via Turkey’s Ceyhan pipeline to international markets.
Kurdistan on the other hand is one of the three main markets for Turkish goods and services, following Germany and the United Kingdom – something noted by Kurdish leaders when they warn that Turkey will lose, too, if they take measures against Kurdish aspirations.
KRG’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani categorically ruled out on Wednesday that Turkey and Iran will intervene on a military level should the vote takes place. He said that these two countries have “strategic interests” with Kurdistan, but also threatened both Ankara and Tehran that Erbil’s “hands are not tied.”
Iran’s head of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, had said on Sunday that they will close their border, withdraw their diplomatic mission in Erbil and Sulaimani, and their security forces will feel free to intervene “deeper” into the Kurdistan Region if the referendum is held.
President Masoud Barzani said on Tuesday that Baghdad had only three days to provide an internationally-backed alternative to referendum that would secure independent state for the people of Kurdistan, or else the process will continue.
The ruling Shiite State of Law Coalition, headed by Vice President Nouri al-Maliki rejected on Wednesday any such alternatives, and instead called on Erbil to cancel the vote.
Kurdistan’s High Referendum Council, headed by Barzani, is to convene later today to assess the international reaction to the vote, and also to decide on the agenda of a delegation scheduled to meet with Iraqi officials Friday in Baghdad.
