ISTANBUL: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday it was increasingly important that Iraq remain a unified country and said a planned Kurdish referendum on independence should not go ahead.
Authorities in Kurdish northern Iraq have announced an independence referendum on Sept. 25, and the president of the Kurdistan regional government told Reuters last week there could be no turning back on the bid for an independent Kurdish state.
“The importance of Iraq’s territorial integrity is increasing by the day,” Erdogan told a petroleum conference in Istanbul. “They should refrain from unilateral steps, such as an independence referendum.”
Erdogan welcomed news that the fight against Daesh in Mosul is nearing its ends but said. He also questioned who would pay for the reconstruction of the region.
Erdogan said Turkey is “very happy about the news that a conclusion (in the battle for) Mosul is being reached” but cautioned that “the point which Mosul has reached is very important.”
“We have been left with a Mosul in ruins,” he said. “Who will meet the cost of rebuilding Mosul for the people of Mosul?”
Separately, Turkey’s state media reported that the government has detained 42 staff of two Istanbul universities, including a prominent academic, as part of an investigation into the group blamed for last year’s failed coup.
Authorities issued a total of 72 arrest warrants for people suspected of links to the group of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Ankara accuses Gulen of ordering the failed plot to oust Erdogan, but Gulen strongly denies the charges.
The staff from Bogazici and Medeniyet universities are accused of using the encrypted messaging app, ByLock, which Ankara claims was especially created for Gulen supporters, Anadolu reported.
The authorities issued detention warrants for eight staff from Bogazici University and 64 staff from Medeniyet University including 19 of its professors from the medical school, Dogan news agency said.
Meanwhile, the Ankara chief public prosecutor issued arrest warrants for 43 people including six staff currently working at the prime minister’s office and related institutions, Anadolu reported.
Authorities in Kurdish northern Iraq have announced an independence referendum on Sept. 25, and the president of the Kurdistan regional government told Reuters last week there could be no turning back on the bid for an independent Kurdish state.
“The importance of Iraq’s territorial integrity is increasing by the day,” Erdogan told a petroleum conference in Istanbul. “They should refrain from unilateral steps, such as an independence referendum.”
Erdogan welcomed news that the fight against Daesh in Mosul is nearing its ends but said. He also questioned who would pay for the reconstruction of the region.
Erdogan said Turkey is “very happy about the news that a conclusion (in the battle for) Mosul is being reached” but cautioned that “the point which Mosul has reached is very important.”
“We have been left with a Mosul in ruins,” he said. “Who will meet the cost of rebuilding Mosul for the people of Mosul?”
Separately, Turkey’s state media reported that the government has detained 42 staff of two Istanbul universities, including a prominent academic, as part of an investigation into the group blamed for last year’s failed coup.
Authorities issued a total of 72 arrest warrants for people suspected of links to the group of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Ankara accuses Gulen of ordering the failed plot to oust Erdogan, but Gulen strongly denies the charges.
The staff from Bogazici and Medeniyet universities are accused of using the encrypted messaging app, ByLock, which Ankara claims was especially created for Gulen supporters, Anadolu reported.
The authorities issued detention warrants for eight staff from Bogazici University and 64 staff from Medeniyet University including 19 of its professors from the medical school, Dogan news agency said.
Meanwhile, the Ankara chief public prosecutor issued arrest warrants for 43 people including six staff currently working at the prime minister’s office and related institutions, Anadolu reported.
