Following Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani's recent remarks on holding a possible referendum on independence at the "earliest time," Turkey's presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın told members of the media yesterday at the Presidential Palace that such a move would be "wrong," stressing that Turkey, "Disapproves bringing up such a matter especially in the times when regional security risks are at their highest."

According to the report by KRG-based Rudaw news agency, Barzani told U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a meeting on Thursday that the KRG "is to hold a referendum at the earliest time," and urged for an "understanding" regarding the demand. The statement released by the KRG Presidency also confirmed Barzani's initiatives, saying: "About the future of the Kurdistan region, President Barzani emphasized that in the near future a referendum will be held so that the world will be aware of the wish and the decision of the people of Kurdistan regarding its future." Hemin Hawrami, a senior assistant to Barzani, told Rudaw that "the referendum vote would be considered a mandate from the Kurdish people." Turkey's presidential spokesman stressed that such a move would be "wrong" especially in such a "delicate period."

"We [Turkey] believe that such a move would be wrong especially during such delicate period… We disapprove mentioning such a matter during times of high security risks [in the region]," Kalın added. He further drew attention to the importance of maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq and noted that "Iraq's possible separation according to ethnic and sectarian lines would not only be limited within the territory of Iraq but rather be spread over the region and everyone will pay the price for such a move," Kalın said while stressing that the matter must be analyzed in this regard.

In regards to the hanging of the KRG flag alongside Iraq's national flag outside the city's public buildings in Kirkuk, which is a predominantly Turkmen town, the presidential spokesman also expressed disapproval and concerns during yesterday's press conference: "It [the hanging of the KRG flag] would cause new grounds for tension and our expectation from the local authorities is to immediately end the practice," Kalın said.