Turkey's President, Erdogan threatens to shut Iraq border and air space soon

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said that Turkey would soon close its border and shut its air space with northern Iraq in response to last week’s Kurdish independence referendum.

Erdogan, who held talks in Tehran on Wednesday with Iranian leaders, also said Turkey would decide jointly with Iran and Iraq’s central government in Baghdad whether to cut oil exports from Kurdish northern Iraq.

Flights to northern Iraq have already been suspended, the air space and borders will also close soon," said Erdogan.

His comments came 10 days after Kurds in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly for independence, alarming Baghdad, Iraq’s neighbours and Western powers who fear the vote could trigger further conflict in the Middle East.

Turkey reportedly tightened controls at its main border crossing into Iraq in the immediate aftermath of the vote and suspended flights to northern Iraq. It has also held joint military exercises with Iraqi troops on the border.

Erdogan said the move towards an independent state in northern Iraq points to “perfect ingratitude” of the Kurdistan Region Regional Government in northern Iraq, which had developed close commercial and political ties with Turkey.

We demand the KRG take the necessary lesson from their mistakes and take steps to compensate for them as soon as possible,” Erdogan said.