Turkey refutes reports on agreement with US on Kirkuk

However, Basbug, in remarks to the press, acknowledged that Turkey had discussed the future of Kirkuk with US officials.

He said Turkey hoped energy resources in Iraq could be equally and fairly used by all the Iraqi people and that Kirkuk, which boasts 12 percent of Iraq’s oil resources, was of particular importance in this context.

"Any wrong decision concerning Kirkuk might cause an internal clash or a civil war in Iraq that would probably affect neighboringTurkey," he said, adding that Kirkuk should be granted special status and be protected.

Referring to reports about operation plans regarding Kirkuk, Basbug said, "It is our task to prevent any unfavorable developmentregarding Kirkuk, so it is our duty to make plans against every possibility."

Kirkuk, a northern Iraqi city sprawling near the Iraqi border with Turkey, has a large population of Turkmens, an ethnic community of Turkish descent, which enjoys Ankara’s support.

The Iraqi Kurds claim that Kirkuk was overwhelmingly Kurdish in the 1950s before Baghdad started a deliberate campaign of "Arabization," during which thousands of Arabs were encouraged to settle in the city.

The kurds are reportedly trying to chase the Arabs out and many want the city to become the capital of an independent Kurdish statein northern Iraq.

Ankara fears that the Kurdish control of Kirkuk oil fields, among the richest in Iraq, may encourage the Iraqi Kurds to break away from Baghdad, fanning separatist sentiment among the Kurds in neighboring southeastern Turkey and triggering turmoil in the region. Enditem