Turkish PM: Ethnic Federation Has Never Been Useful

Talking before leaving for Saudi Arabia to join the 5th Jidda Economic Forum, Erdogan responded to a question about the Second Chief of General Staff, Gen. Ilker Basbug ‘s remarks, saying: " Our basic principle concerning this issue is that a federation based on an ethnic structure will not be practical, and we have stated our opinion about this issue many times. This same idea is shared by the neighboring countries." Erdogan emphasized that a structure based on sects, religions and so on would not be beneficial. Recalling that they also discussed this issue with Iraq Islam Revolution Supreme Council Leader Abdulaziz Al-Hakim on his visit to Turkey, Erdogan said: "They also share the same ideas with us. None of these could form a foundation for a healthy state structure of Iraq." The Second Chief of General Staff, Gen. Ilker Basbug had the previous day said: " In Iraq if a federal state is established based primarily on ethnic roots, then the future of Iraq will surely be very hard and bloody."