ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - The prime minister on
Monday warned Iraqi Kurds against interfering in southeastern Turkey, where the
Kurdish majority is fighting Turkish security forces, saying "the price for them
will be very high."
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was
responding to Massoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq,
who said Iraqi Kurds would retaliate for any Turkish interference in northern
Iraq by stirring up trouble in southeastern Turkey
"He's out of place," Erdogan said of Barzani.
"He'll be crushed under his words."
The verbal sparring was set off by Barzani on
Saturday when he said in an interview with al-Arabiyah television that Iraqi
Kurds could "interfere" in Kurdish-majority Turkish cities if Ankara interfered
in northern Iraq.
Turkey is especially concerned about Barzani's
bid to incorporate the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk into his semiautonomous
region, fearing that Iraqi Kurds will use revenues from the city's oil wealth to
fund a bid for independence.
"Northern Iraq, which is a neighbour, is making
a serious mistake: The price for them will be very high," Erdogan warned
The Foreign Ministry also sent a note to the
Iraqi government "reminding them of their responsibilities on the subject of the
fight against terror," government spokesman Cemil Cicek said.
"The source of the ethnic terrorism that is
taking lives in Turkey is Iraq," Cicek said in a news conference following a
cabinet meeting, referring to Kurdish rebels who hide and train in the
mountainous region of northern Iraq.
Later in the day, Iraqi President Jalal
Talabani, an ethnic Kurd, called Erdogan to allay his concerns, saying he was
saddened by the rising tensions with Turkey, the state-run Anatolia news agency
reported.
Last week, the Iraqi government decided to
implement a constitutional requirement to determine the status of Kirkuk, which
is disputed among several different ethnic groups,- by the end of the year. The
plan is expected to turn Kirkuk and its vast oil reserves over to Kurdish
control, a step rejected by many of Iraq's Arabs and its Turkmen, ethnic Turks
who are strongly backed by the Turkish government.
Some in Turkey have hinted at military action
to prevent the Kurds from gaining control of Kirkuk.
Barzani's remarks were front-page news and
angered many in Turkey, with opposition parties criticizing the government for
not responding harshly to the Kurdish leader's threat.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul called U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday to discuss Barzani's remarks,
the Anatolia news agency reported.
Kursad Tuzmen, the Turkish minister in charge
of trade, said earlier Monday: "Turkey's hand of friendship is warm and solid.
But for those who don't deserve it, it is very heavy - it should never be
tested." Turkey is an important trading partner for the Iraqi Kurds.
In the interview with Al-Arabiya on Saturday,
Barzani said: "Turkey is not allowed to intervene in the Kirkuk issue and if it
does, we will interfere in Diyarbakir's issues and other cities in Turkey."
Diyarbakir is the largest city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast.
When asked about the Turkmen minority in Kirkuk
and Turkey's concern for its ethnic brethren, Barzani shot back:
"There are 30 million Kurds in Turkey and we
don't interfere there. If they (the Turks) interfere in Kirkuk over just
thousands of Turkmen, then we will take action for the 30 million Kurds in
Turkey."
"I hope we don't reach this point, but if the
Turks insist on intervening in the Kirkuk matter I am ready to take
responsibility for our response," Barzani said.
