29 Mar 2024
Sunday 22 October 2017 - 13:37
Story Code : 280339

Saudi, UAE secretly worked for Kurdistan secession: Report



Press TV - Like Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have supported the Iraqi Kurdistan regions push for secession in an attempt to clip the wings of Turkey, Iran and Iraq, a report says.

In an article published on Saturday, David Hearst, the editor in chief of the Middle East Eye (MEE) news portal, drew a parallel between Tel Avivs stance on the Kurdish vote and that of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

The controversial Kurdishreferendum took place on September 25, sparkingstrong objection from Baghdad and Iraqs neighbors, particularly Iran and Turkey.

OnlyIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly voiced support for what he called the legitimate efforts of the Kurdish people to attain a state of its own.

Major General Yair Golan, former Israeli army deputy chief, also defended the Kurdish secession as well as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which isoutlawedin Turkey.

"From my personal point of view the PKK is not a terrorist organization, that's how I see it," Golan said.

Al Saud andTel Aviv seeeye to eye

According to the report, while Saudi Arabia officially called forthe cancellation of the plebiscite,behind the scene it supported the Kurds' plans to split the Arab countryand question the territorial integrity of its neighboring states.

The Saudi Royal Court reportedly dispatched a series of emissaries to encourage Kurdish leader MassoudBarzani to go on with hissecession project.

Former Saudi military general, Anwar Eshki, was among those figures who explicitly said that working for the creation of a greater Kurdistan would "reduce Iranian, Turkish and Iraqi ambitions."

"This will carve away one third of the territory of each country in favor of Kurdistan," he reportedly said.

Eshki further told Russia Sputnik news agency that he believes "the Kurds have the right to have a state of their own" and claimed that Iraq had gone far in marginalizing the Kurds.

In July 2016, the ex-Saudi general paid a visit to Israel and met with asenior Israeli foreign ministry official and a number of Israeli parliament members.

Israeli dailyHaaretzat the time described the visit as "ahighly unusual one," as Eshki could not have traveled to Israel without approval from the Saudi government.



UAE adds voice

A"reliable source" told the MEE that Barzani's son, Masrour, who heads the Kurdistan Region Security Council, made a secret visit to Abu Dhabi just a month before the September referendum.

UAE academics operating under the license of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyanissued statements of support for the Kurdish vote.

Emirati professor Abdullah Abd al-Khaliq published a map depicting what he called the future state of Kurdistan and called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to penalize the Iraqi Kurdistan because of its democratic referendum.


[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="555"] Iraqi Kurdistan's president Masoud Barzani (L) meets with UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on June 17, 2015.[/caption]
Meanwhile, an Iraqi official told The New Arab media outlet that Erbil had signed a "memorandum of understanding" with Ibtesam al-Ketbi, chairwoman of theEmirates Policy Center, to help organize the Kurdish vote.

The New Arabquoted another Iraqi official as sayingthat UAE Consul in KurdistanRashid Al-Mansourihad visited a polling station in Erbil. The UAE, however, denied the report.

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