Turkey rejects Kurdish independence, wants Iraq unity government (Turkish officials said)

Turkey opposes independence for a Kurdish state in northern Iraq and wants a unity government in Baghdad to counter the threat by Islamist Sunni rebels who have seized large swathes of territory in recent weeks, Turkish officials said.

Iraqi Kurds have benefited from the recent turmoil sweeping the country by occupying territory abandoned by government forces fleeing the advance of Sunni fighters led by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which took Iraq's second city Mosul earlier this month.

Turkey has good relations with the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq but would not support moves to push for independence from Baghdad, a Turkish government official said in response to questions from Reuters on Monday.

"Turkey's position is for the territorial integrity and political unity of Iraq, that's it," the official said anonymously, in order to speak more freely.
"(We) are not in favour of any independence, that would be detrimental to that unity. Nothing like that could be discussed," the official stated, adding that Ankara is backing calls for the creation of a consensus or unity government to represent the interests of all Iraqis.
There has been mounting speculation over the past few weeks that Ankara's poor relations with the central Shi'ite-led government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki could lead to Turkey accepting or supporting a Kurdish breakaway from Baghdad.
Comments in the Financial Times on Saturday by Huseyin Celik, a spokesman for Turkey's ruling AK Party, have been interpreted as suggesting Ankara would tolerate an independent Kurdish state if Iraq were to fall apart.
"If Iraq is divided and it is inevitable, they are our brothers... Unfortunately the situation in Iraq is not good, and it looks like it is going to be divided," Celik was quoted as saying.
However another Turkish official at the prime minister's office last week appeared to pour cold water on the idea, telling Reuters that "the integrity of Iraq is very important to Turkey"...................................http://www.todayonline.com/world/turkey-rejects-kurdish-independence-wants-iraq-unity-government-officials-say?singlepage=true
30/6/14
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