Turkey closely following developments in Kirkuk: PM

Turkey is closely following the developments in Kirkuk, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım stated on Tuesday at the Justice and Development (AK) Party's group meeting at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, addressing the operation launched by the Iraqi army late on Sunday in the northern city.

“Kirkuk has reportedly been fully purged from the PKK terrorists and the Peshmerga,” he said. Yıldırım said that it was a positive development that Kirkuk was once again under the control of the Iraqi central government and that the important matter is an administration which will reestablish the demographic structure suited to the deep-rooted history of the region.

“The majority of the population [in Kirkuk] is Turkmens, but this situation has changed in the course of time. Turkey will closely follow the developments in Kirkuk.”