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26Sep17


Turkey's Erdogan warns of large-scale sanction over Iraqi Kurdish independence


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) that independence could result in large-scale sanctions and leave the northern Iraqi enclave helpless.

"You will be left in the middle anyway, from the moment we start implementing sanctions, and all your income will be over," Erdogan said at a ceremony in Ankara to mark the new university year.

Iraq's Kurdish region on Monday held a controversial independence referendum despite fierce opposition from Baghdad and neighbours Iran and Turkey.

"The moment that [Turkish] trucks do not work in northern Iraq, they will not be able to find food and clothes," he said.

Erdogan also described the vote as a "betrayal to our country" since it had come at the best time of bilateral relations between Ankara and the neighbouring KRG.

The president reaffirmed that Turkey's all reaction options, from economic sanctions to military measures, are all on the table right now and being discussed.

Meanwhile, Iraqi troops and Turkish troops on Tuesday started a joint exercise in Silopi district, Sirnak province of southeast Turkey, just several kilometers away from the border of the Iraqi Kurdish region.

[Source: Xinhua, Ankara, 26Sep17]

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