Ankara, which remains impartial to different political groups among the Iraqi Turkmen people, evinced the same stance in sending invitations for Thursday's iftar. In addition to seven Iraqi Turkmen deputies who have been elected to the Iraqi Parliament from various political parties, leaders of different Iraqi Turkmen political parties, Iraqi Turkmen opinion leaders and heads of Iraqi Turkmen foundations and associations based in Turkey have been invited to the iftar by President Gül. Bilkent University Rector Ali Doğramacı, whose family's origin is Iraqi Turkmen, is also among the invitees.
During the iftar, Gül will reiterate the government's support for Iraq's territorial integrity and national unity while urging Iraqi Turkmens to conduct their political activities within the framework of these principles.
Iraqi Kurds run three provinces in northern Iraq and claim the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk is also part of their semi-autonomous region. Kurdish claims on Kirkuk are a source of tension between the city's Kurds and non-Kurdish population, made up of Turkmens and Arabs. The Iraqi Constitution envisions a referendum on the status of Kirkuk, but the vote, although planned earlier, has never taken place because pre-referendum requirements, such as a census, could never be carried out. Turkey, which shares close ethnic ties with Turkmens, calls for a compromise among Iraqi groups on the status of Kirkuk. The United States is also cautious about Kurdish claims over Kirkuk, fearing it could lead to clashes that could affect the entirety of Iraq.
