Kirkuk a test for US ties

Erdogan said U.S. President George W. Bush had assured him he would look into the issue of massive Kurdish migration to Kirkuk but to date had done nothing.

In a move to calm Turkish concerns, Douglas J. Feith, the neoconservative U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, said in Ankara that Iraq’s territorial integrity was still a priority for the United States. “It is crucial that Iraq’s territorial integrity is preserved,” he said after talks with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, adding that it was for all Iraqis, not one ethnic group, to decide Kirkuk’s fate.

The Kirkuk dispute is also expected to top talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is scheduled to arrive in Ankara this weekend.

Holding back criticism:

Erdogan made his remarks in an interview held before the Iraqi elections. In a statement yesterday, the Foreign Ministry signaled that the election results, especially those pertaining to Kirkuk’s fate, would be subject to a new assessment once they were made public.

Turkey has warned the United Nations and the United States of the possibly destabilizing effects of the tension in Kirkuk, saying it could spark clashes in Iraq.