Turkish minister wants Kurds to abandon secession vote
11:58, 23/08/2017, WednesdayU: Update: 12:00, 23/08/2017, Wednesday
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Mevlut Cavusoglu - Ibrahim al-Jaafari meeting in Baghdad
'Referendum decision should be cancelled,' Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu tells reporters in Iraq
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Wednesday called on Iraqi Kurds to cancel a planned independence referendum scheduled for next month.
“Our expectation from Erbil is quite plain and clear: this referendum decision should be cancelled,”
Çavuşoğlu told reporters at a joint news conference alongside his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari in Baghdad.
On Sept. 25, residents of northern Iraq’s Kurdish region will take part in a popular referendum on whether or not to declare formal independence from the Iraqi state.
Baghdad rejects the planned poll, saying it could adversely affect the ongoing fight against Daesh, which -- despite a string of recent defeats -- still maintains a significant presence in Iraq.