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Article: IRAQ: TURKISH PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER REJECTS KURDISH STATE WITH KIRKUK AS CAPITAL.
- Article from:
- IPR Strategic Business Information Database
- Article date:
- October 20, 2002
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Turkish parliamentary speaker Omer Izgi told Anadolu Agency on 13 October that the Turkish government cannot accept a Kurdish state being established with Kirkuk as its capital. He pointed out that Iraqi Turkmen inhabit the regions of Kirkuk, Mosul, and Al-Sulaymaniyah. His implications were that the Iraqi Turkmen, who were formally among the guardians of the Ottoman Empire, are still under Turkish protection. He explained at a press conference in Konya, "It is impossible to set up a Kurdish state, especially with Kirkuk as its capital in that region." Elaborating on Turkey's rejection of such a Kurdish entity, he went on to say, "Even if they try to establish a state, ...