Türkiye praised Sunday's Iraqi elections as a sign that Iraqis remain committed to a unified, peaceful country, while signaling it would carefully monitor outcomes in the northern city of Kirkuk, which holds some of Iraq's largest oil reserves and a significant Turkmen population.
Ankara's foreign ministry expressed concern that Kurdish groups in northern Iraq aim to take control of Kirkuk and eventually establish an independent state, a prospect officials fear could inflame separatist sentiment among Kurds in southeastern Türkiye. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned that Türkiye might feel compelled to act if ethnic unrest erupts in Kirkuk.
The issue was sharpened by the participation in Sunday's vote of tens of thousands of Kurds who had settled in Kirkuk after 2003, many of them said to have been displaced under Saddam Hussein's rule.
Turkish newspapers debated the implications of strong Kurdish voter turnout in the north, with several citing Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani's statement that Iraqi Kurds would one day have their own state. Some editorials also flagged the Sunni boycott, warning that the new parliament drafting Iraq's constitution would be dominated by Shiites and Kurds.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.