Turkey hopeful UN report may help solve Kirkuk issue

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

The U.N. report, in its current shape, is largely compatible with Turkey's views on the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk and other contested regions in the neighboring country, Burak Ozugergin was quoted by Anatolian Agency as telling a weekly press conference in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

"And if all goes well, we hope that the report would made a contribution to the settlement of the issue," he added.

The United Nations handed the Iraqi government a report last month that it hopes will help end decades of deadlock over Kirkuk, which sits on as much as 4 percent of the world's oil.

The report contained four options to overcome disputes over control of Kirkuk and recommendations on 14 other contested areas in northern Iraq. The options, all of which treat the province as a single unit, were not made public.