Erdogan criticises KRG referendum plans

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani's decision not to postpone an independence referendum later this month is "very wrong," Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

Speaking in an interview with broadcaster A Haber, Erdogan said Turkey may be forced to reconsider its stance on the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG).

"Barzani knows well our thoughts about this issue,” Erdogan told A Haber. “I don't find it right that he is now taking steps in the other direction.”

“We stood with the Kurdish Regional Government in the most difficult times. But those steps have forced us to reconsider,” Erdogan said.

Citing concerns over Kirkuk, an ethnically-mixed Iraqi city, which has largely been under the occupation of Kurdish Peshmerga forces since 2014, the Turkish president said that Turkey would announce its official position on the referendum after its National Security Council and cabinet have convened on September 22.

“We were supposed to hold a National Security Council meeting on September 27. But because of this referendum, we have brought that date forward to September 22,” Erdogan said.

“Right after that, our government will hold a cabinet meeting and it will announce its final decision on the same day."

Iraqi Kurdish parliament approves referendum

On Friday evening, the KRG’s parliament approved the plan to hold the referendum on September 25, ignoring Iraqi, Iranian and Turkish opposition.

An overwhelming majority of Iraqi Kurdish MPs in Erbil raised their hands to approve the plan, during the first session held by the parliament since it was suspended two years ago due to a dispute between Gorran, the main opposition movement, and Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

MPs from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) attended the session, ensuring the required quorum. The PUK is historic rival of the KDP but is supporting the referendum plan.

The US and its Western allies have expressed concern that the vote could cause new conflicts in the region and distract from the war on Daesh, who continue to occupy parts of Iraq and Syria.

Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia paramilitary groups have threatened to dislodge the Kurdish forces from the oil-rich Kirkuk region, which is due to take part in the referendum.

Kirkuk is home to sizeable Arab and Turkmen populations and is outside the KRG official boundaries.

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters seized Kirkuk and other disputed territories when the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of Daesh in 2014.