Turkey, Iran and Iraq have agreed to consider counter-measures against Kurdish northern Iraq over a planned independence referendum.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the three countries voiced concerns that the referendum would endanger gains Iraq has made against Daesh, and reiterated worries of potential new conflicts in the region.
"The ministers underlined that the referendum will not benefit the Kurds or the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, and in this light, agreed to consider counter-measures in cooperation with each other," the statement said.
The ministers, who were in New York attending the United Nations General Assembly, called on the international community to intervene.
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdoğan has threatened to impose sanctions against Kurdish northern Iraq. Turkish troops are also carrying out military exercises near the border.
The central government in Baghdad, Iraq's neighbours and Western powers fear the vote could divide the country and spark a wider regional conflict, after Arabs and Kurds cooperated to dislodge Islamic State from its stronghold in Mosul.
But the Kurds say they are determined to go ahead with the vote, which, though non-binding, could trigger the process of separation in a country already divided along sectarian and ethnic lines.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, and their Iraqi counterpart Ibrahim al-Jaafari had voiced their "complete determination" to maintain Iraq's territorial and political integrity.
The chairman of Turkish Parliamentary Constitution Committee told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that they expect the referendum to be cancelled.
Also a lawmaker for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party from Istanbul, Mustafa Sentop said that Turkey had been standing by the people in the region since the beginning of the 1990s, and providing economic aid to Barzani-ruled northern Iraq.
"It is sad that the Barzani administration, which asks for Turkey's help whenever it is in need, has made such a move despite Turkey," Sentop said, adding it would be "impossible" to hold such a vote with the aim of establishing an independent state in northern Iraq despite Turkey's objections.
"Turkey would not allow this," he said.
