Iraqi Kurdish Leader in Turkey amid Independence Moves
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region will meet Turkish leaders on Monday as Ankara keeps a close eye on moves for an independent Iraqi Kurdistan amid the chaos in its conflict-torn neighbor.
Massud Barzani is due to meet President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara in separate meetings from 1100 GMT.
The visit comes as lightening gains by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq have alarmed countries in the region and sparked calls for Kurdish autonomy to counter the radical militant threat.
In an interview this month, Barzani said Iraq's Kurds would hold an independence referendum within months, adding that the time was right for a vote as Iraq was already effectively divided by ISIL's actions in Iraq, AFP reported.
Turkey, which has its own Kurdish minority, has said it is committed to the territorial integrity of Iraq and officially remains opposed to the notion of Kurdish independence.
But in recent years, Ankara has enjoyed burgeoning trade ties with Iraq's Kurdistan region while Erdogan has also moved to end the conflict with Kurdish rebels at home and grant Turkish Kurds greater rights.
