International

Turkey, Iran and Iraq will jointly decide on closing the flow of oil from northern Iraq, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Thursday, in what would mark a retaliatory move after the Kurdish region voted for independence.
     Erdogan, who was speaking to Turkish media including broadcasters NTV and CNN Turk on his return flight from a one-day trip to Iran, said northern Iraq’s Kurdish region would come to its senses and turn back from its decision.
     “If a decision will be made on closing oil taps in the region, that will be made by us. Turkey, Iran and Iraq’s central government will do so together,” Erdogan was quoted as saying.
     “The northern Iraqi leadership is drunk with the result of the referendum, it’s not aware of what it is doing or what kind of steps it’s taking,” he said.
     Erdogan also criticised the inclusion of the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in the referendum, saying that Kurds had no legitimacy there and that they were “invaders” in the region.
     Kurds in northern Iraq last week voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence. But the Baghdad central government, its neighbours and Western powers fear the vote could spark further conflict in the Middle East to add to the war in Syria.