Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks during a press conference in Baghad, Iraq on Aug. 23, 2017. Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday arrived here to hold talks with Iraqi leaders and to demand that the Iraqi Kurds cancel their referendum for independence. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
BAGHDAD, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday arrived here to hold talks with Iraqi leaders and to demand that the Iraqi Kurds cancel their referendum for independence.
"We have said, several times, that the referendum of Kurdistan is a wrong decision, and today when I will visit Arbil (capital of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan), I will repeat what I said that the referendum is wrong decision which will create problems and a new crisis," Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari.
"We hope that Arbil would retreat and cancel the referendum, as it is for the interest of the Kurds to preserve Iraq's unity," Cavusoglu said.
"We wish that all the problems between Baghdad and Arbil be solved to preserve the integrity of Iraq. We (Turkey) are ready to play a role to help solving the problems if the two sides asked us," he said.
The Turkish minister said that he discussed with Jaafari the bilateral relations and the battles against terrorist Islamic State (IS) group in Tal Afar in northern Iraq.
"Turkey will support Iraq in the reconstruction of the devastated areas, as we supported Iraq in its war with the terrorist Daesh (IS group)," Cavusoglu said.
For his part Jaafari said that the Iraqi and Turkish officials discussed political, economic and security issues.
Cavusoglu is also scheduled to meet with Iraqi President Fuad Masum, Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi and other high-ranking officials before leaving to Arbil, some 375 km north of Baghdad, to meet with Kurdish leaders.
The visit comes amid debate for a controversial independence referendum by Iraqi Kurds in northern Iraq scheduled for Sept. 25, a step which has been opposed by Baghdad as well as the neighboring Turkey and Iran, which both have sizeable Kurdish minorities of their own.
The referendum is viewed by some regional and international officials as a threat to both Iraqi and regional security.
