ANKARA, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The heads of the Turkish and Iraqi armed forces held talks on Saturday to discuss the planned referendum in the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
Turkish Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar and his Iraqi counterpart Othman al-Ghanimi, met at the General Staff headquarters in Ankara, the Turkish military said in a written statement.
The two military leaders underlined the importance of preserving Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity, voicing to continue the joint fight against terror organizations.
They also exchanged views on maintaining effective cooperation on border security and safeguarding the region's stability.
The meeting came two days ahead of the independence referendum scheduled by the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) for Sept. 25.
Both the Iraqi government and Turkey have voiced strong opposition to the vote, fearing it would undermine Iraq's territorial integrity and destabilize the region by inspiring the huge Kurdish population living in Turkey, Iran and Syria.
