We don’t recognize the KRG as a state: PM

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Friday that the upcoming Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) independence referendum would spark regional problems, and that Turkey was working in cooperation with Russia and Iran in Syria to ensure peace in the war-torn country.

“We said from the beginning that this was the wrong move. We are reiterating the same thing today. The referendum will serve only to spark new problems without solving any existing ones. The referendum should be cancelled. The Iraqi central government does not support it, and neither does Iran, the U.S. or Turkey. European countries have called it “untimely.” When you take all this into account, it is meaningless for the Northern Iraq administration to insist,” Yıldırım said on his flight returning from Vietnam.

“The groups in the region have not reached a consensus either. The decision to hold a referendum is wrong, no matter which angle you look at it from. There are Turkmens and Arabs in Kirkuk, and this complicates matters. This could cause problems. They [KRG] should turn back from this move that will not benefit them or the region,” he added.

The prime minister also commented on the rocky relationship between the KRG and Iraqi central government.

“Relations between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government are not progressing as planned. After the Iraqi Gulf War, the U.S. made a constitution there and gave them autonomy. But in the ensuing period, trust between the Northern Iraq Regional Government and the Baghdad administration could not be fully established. There are mutual accusations. Over time, a breakdown occurred,” Yıldırım said.

Yıldırım also responded to Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli’s comments stating that the KRG referendum could “be the reason for a war with Turkey if necessary.”

“A war occurs between states. We do not recognize them [KRG] as a state. We are talking about a part of Iraq that has a regional administration. That can’t be a cause for war,” Yıldırım said.

The premier explained that there would be no reason for Turkey and the U.S. to be on opposite sides in Syria.

“We are talking about two NATO nations, there should be no reason for there to be (problems). Of course, if they show a stance other than what they have told us on the YPG issue, it would be a problem," he said.

“Turkey shares a 911 kilometer-long border with Syria. It’s our longest border. There are many terror threats from there. We are under pressure from Daesh, the PKK and regime operations, which cause refugee influxes. Terror attacks were targeting our border cities of Kilis and Gaziantep, that’s why we launched Operation Euphrates Shield. We will respond only if our sovereignty and security is threated,” Yıldırım added.

The U.S.-backed operation to purge Raqqa, Daesh’s stronghold in Syria, of terrorists raised security concerns for Turkey. Ankara believes the YPG will change the demographics of Raqqa, and has warned that it would retaliate if there was a cross-border security threat.

“We believe the YPG is the same as the PKK. Daesh is a whole other nuisance. Action in Syria must be coordinated with the main actors. The U.S., Russia, Iran, Europeans, Turkey and the regime are active,” Yıldırım said.

“The aim is to ensure that Syria achieves peace, and that a government that represents all members of the state is established. That’s our goal,” he added.

The People’s Protection Units (YPG) follows the leftist ideology of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has fought a three-decade insurgency in Turkey.

“We have to avoid the risk of conflict by agreeing with the countries on the field. The U.S. Defense Secretary came to Turkey and met with our president. Our concerns were shared. The U.S. says that their cooperation with the YPG and PYD is not a choice but an obligation, to allegedly purge Daesh, and that once that is done, the U.S. will stop working with them. We do not know if that will happen,” Yıldırım said.

“We work together with Iran and Russia on the field in Syria. Russia passes on messages from the regime regarding expectations and demands. Russia speaks on behalf of itself and the regime. The aim of our work with Iran and Russia is to purge the region of Daesh, prevent a tragedy in Idlib, form de-escalation zones and save 2 million Syrian civilians from danger,” he continued.

The prime minister confirmed that Turkey and Russia had reached an agreement on the procurement of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia, and that the final decision would be made by the executive committee of Turkey's defense industry.