SULAIMANI (ESTA) — A senior Kurdish official said on Saturday the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) respects sovereignty of Turkey, Iran and Syria, after a commemorative stamp design featuring a map of Kurdistan angered its neighboring countries.
The Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Transportation and Communication released the designs of six stamps to mark Pope Francis’ March 7 visit to the Kurdistan Region.
One of the stamps featured the pope and the map of greater Kurdistan which includes the Kurdistan Region and Kurdish areas in Turkey, Iran and Syria.
Head of Department of Foreign Relations Safeen Dizayee said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) did not plan on the project and that a few graphic designers had proposed and presented the design to the ministry of transportation and communication.
“We certainly have the utmost respect for the sovereignty of neighboring countries of Iran, Turkey and Syria, and we expect those countries to respect the sovereignty of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” he told Anadolu Agency.
Iran and Turkey lashed out at the KRG over attempts to print the commemorative stamp to mark the pope’s visit.
“Certain presumptuous authorities in the KRG dared to abuse the [pope’s visit] to express their unrealistic aspirations against the territorial integrity of Iraq’s neighboring countries. KRG authorities are in the best position to remember the disappointing outcomes of such deceitful aims,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement last week.
It demanded the KRG officials immediately ratify the “mistake”.
Spokesperson of Iranian foreign ministry Saeed Khatibzadeh said “what has been published by the KRG, in general, is against international laws and principles”, according to state news agency IRNA.
He also called on Iraq to “immediately reverse this unfriendly action”.
KRG Spokesman Jotiar Adil said last week that none of the designs had been approved.
“The design that will be approved for printing will be in accordance with the Constitution and the law,” he added.
