Holding independence referendum by Iraqi Kurds is irresponsible: Turkish PM

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on June 9 called a plan by the autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to hold a referendum on independence "irresponsible", adding that the region had enough problems at the moment.

Speaking to reporters after Friday prayers, Yıldırım said Turkey wanted all Iraqis to live together as one nation, and added he did not find it right to add an additional problem to the region.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also called the referendum decision a "grave mistake," saying that Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity was a fundamental principle for Ankara.
   
"We think this will represent a grave mistake," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"The maintenance of Iraq's territorial integrity and political unit is one of the fundamental principles of Turkey's Iraq policy," it added.

In addition, Baghdad said on June 9 that the government would reject any move by Kurdish regional authorities to press unilaterally for independence.

"No party can on its own decide the fate of Iraq, in isolation from the other parties," spokesman Saad al-Haddithi said in a statement.
   
"Iraq is constitutionally a democratic, federal country with full sovereignty (..) Any measure from any side in Iraq should be based on the constitution,'' Haddithi said.  

Earlier, the United States had warned that the decision could distract from the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group.
 
The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) announced on June 7 that it would vote on Sept. 25 on whether to split from the rest of Iraq and form an independent nation.
 
"The United States supports a unified, federal, stable and democratic Iraq," State...