(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) ANKARA, Sept 26 (KUNA) -- Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Tuesday that his country will shut off pipelines that carries oil from northern Iraq to the world, and ban Turkish tankers from crossing the Kurdistan region, official media reported.
Erdogan made his remarks, in reaction to recently held Kurdish referendum, at a ceremony in Ankara to mark the start of the academic year, according to Anadolu Agency (AA).
The Kurdish vote on independence could result in large scale sanctions that will leave the northern Iraqi enclave helpless, Erdogan said.
"You will be left in the middle anyway, from the moment we start implementing sanctions," he said, affirming "It will be finished when we close a valve. All your income is over." The moment that Turkish trucks do not work in northern Iraq, they will not be able to find food and clothes, Erdogan said.
"Frankly, we did not give credence until the last moment that Barzani would make a mistake like this," said the Turkish President.
"This means that we were wrong. The decision, which was taken without a prior consultation or meeting, is a betrayal to our country in an era where our relations were at their best level in history," he said. (end) rs.ma
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