Türkiye's military cautioned on 26 January 2005 that Kurdish efforts to gain control of Kirkuk, a northern Iraqi city with major oil reserves, would create serious security risks for the country and could damage its relationship with the United States.
General Ilker Basbug, deputy chief of the Turkish armed forces, told reporters that Ankara had documented an influx of Kurds into Kirkuk beyond those originally displaced under Saddam Hussein, many of whom had registered for the 30 January Iraqi elections. He said this made a fair and lasting resolution for the city's status nearly impossible to achieve.
Ankara has long opposed Kurdish dominance in Kirkuk, which Kurdish leaders regard as part of their northern Iraqi autonomous zone and a potential capital for a future independent state. The city also holds a substantial Turkmen community, a group of Turkish descent that Ankara actively supports.
Earlier in January, a deal between Kurdish leaders and the Iraqi transitional government allowed an estimated 100,000 previously expelled Kurds to register and vote in Kirkuk's local elections, effectively tilting the electoral balance and deepening communal tensions.
Basbug warned that post-election disputes could ignite ethnic confrontations and civil conflict across Iraq, and said any breakdown in Kirkuk would expose clear differences between Ankara and Washington.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.