Turkey should close its air space to Northern Iraq, security council tells government

Ankara: Turkey`s national security council on Monday advised the government to close its air space to Iraq`s semi-autonomous Kurdish region and have Baghdad take control of the Iraqi side of its main border crossing.

The attempt to put the Habur border gate under control of the Iraqi central government signals a change of policy from Ankara, which had previously threatened to close the gate after Kurds in northern Iraq voted for independence.

The Habur gate is the main transit point between Turkey and Iraq`s semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government. The Sept. 25 referendum, in which Kurds in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence, has alarmed Baghdad, Iraq`s neighbours and Western powers, all of whom fear further regional conflict could arise from the vote.

Ankara, which has been battling a three-decade insurgency in its own mainly Kurdish southeast, fears an independent Kurdish state on its borders would heighten separatist tension at home.

"The steps taken following the illegitimate referendum that violates the Iraqi constitution were evaluated and the recommended measures were discussed," the MGK national security council said in a statement.

Turkey tightened controls at the Habur border gate 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.

However, it has not yet implemented threats to impose wider sanctions on the Kurdish region or to cut off the hundreds of thousands of barrels of Kurdish oil exported daily via Turkey to world markets.

In a statement following the meeting that was chaired by President Tayyip Erdogan, the MGK also advised the government to extend an ongoing state of emergency, which was imposed shortly after the failed coup attempt in July 2016.

If extended for a fifth term, Turkey will have spent nearly one and a half years under emergency rule. Turkey`s cabinet will convene later on Monday to discuss the security council`s recommendations.