Turkey enters Kirkuk fray

ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan Monday called on all parties to work together to resolve the ongoing dispute over the status of the Iraqi city Kirkuk.

Babacan said unilateral moves by Kurdish officials regarding the jurisdiction of Kirkuk city, be it Kurdish or Iraqi, could have a destabilizing effect on the region, the Turkish daily newspaper Hurriyet reported.

"We attach great importance to the stability in Kirkuk, as it is closely related to the stability in Iraq," he said.

The provincial elections law failed in the Iraqi Parliament in part due to the status of Kirkuk. Sunni Arab and Turkomen took to the streets during the weekend to protest a Kurdish move to transfer Kirkuk to Iraqi Kurdistan ahead of a Sunday vote on the issue.

U.N. officials have suggested delaying provincial elections in Kirkuk as a way to move the vote forward for the rest of the country. Babacan said his country had lobbied for U.N. intervention on the matter as well.

Iraq had scheduled provincial elections for Oct. 1, but wrangling over the elections law has put that target in serious jeopardy.

The Iraqi Parliament is scheduled to revisit the issue in Tuesday's session.