Both Turkish and Iranian leaders voiced strong opposition to the recent Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) independence referendum at a Tehran meeting on Oct. 4, stressing the importance of preserving existing borders.
Ankara will take stronger steps in retaliation for the Iraqi Kurdish referendum last week, having already taken some measures in coordination with the Iraqi central government and Iran, Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Wednesday.
"A development of this sort will isolate the Kurdish regional government," Erdoğan said. "Our determination in this regard is clear. We correspond with the central government in Iraq, and as far as we are concerned, this referendum is illegitimate."
"What is the referendum organised by northern Iraq’s regional administration for? No country in the world apart from Israel recognises it. A decision made at the table with Mossad is not legitimate, it is illegitimate," Erdoğan said, referring to the Israeli spy agency.
Erdogan added: "From this moment onward, more decisive steps will be taken. As Iran and Turkey - and the central government - there are still heavier steps for us to take."
Tehran and Ankara should respond to the referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan's independence from Iraq, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said.
"Ethnic discrimination is in the plans of foreign forces in the region; we will not let them come true. The Iraqi Kurds are our neighbours and big friends; we do not want any pressure to be put on them. But they have made certain wrong decisions. That is why Turkey and Iran should take certain measures against these wrongful decisions," Rouhani told a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Erdoğan.
He reiterated both countries' commitment to the territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria, as well as the fight against terrorism.
"We support the territorial integrity of both Iraq and Syria. The fight against terrorism is the main objective of our countries; we will do it no matter how these terrorists call themselves - Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra [terrorist groups, both outlawed in Russia] or PPK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party, banned in Turkey]," the Iranian president added.
The vote on Iraqi Kurdistan independence took place on September 25 and resulted in 92.7 percent of voters casting their ballots for the autonomous region's independence from Baghdad. The authorities of Iraq declared the referendum illegitimate and stressed that they would not hold talks with the regional government. The independence vote is widely criticised not only by the Iraqi central government but also by Iran, Turkey and some other countries and international organisations.
