Former Turkish President Gül calls on Kurdistan Regional Government to give up independence vote

ISTANBUL

Former Turkish President Abdullah Gül on Sept. 25 called to the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to abandon its independence referendum, which is currently being held across KRG territory, saying it would “cause Arab-Kurdish wars.” 

“Two Muslim-majority Arab states, Iraq and Syria, are already broken and the region is full of suffering and destruction. I think it will be for the benefit of the Iraqi Kurds to abandon the referendum, which will inevitably cause Arab-Kurdish wars,” Gül wrote on his official Twitter account. 

“In addition, this kind of a fait accompli will only worsen the situation in Kirkuk, where Turkmens, Kurds and Arabs live together,” he added.