Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that recent remarks of Iraq's Kurdish regional leader Masoud Barzani on the Kirkuk issue "has crossed the line of diplomacy," the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

"If Barzani is satisfying himself with such remarks, it is his own business," Erdogan was quoted as saying, adding "however, the Republic of Turkey does not need such satisfaction."

Last week, Barzani said in an interview with the Al-Arabiya television channel that Turkey was not allowed to intervene in the efforts made by Iraqi Kurds to attach the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk to the Kurdish autonomous region.

If Turkey did intervene in the Kirkuk issue, Iraqi Kurds would interfere in Diyarbakir, a mainly Kurdish city in southeastern Turkey, and other cities in the region, Barzani added.

Erdogan said, "Barzani is making a mistake by making such remarks. The penalty of such remarks will be very heavy."

He also stressed that the leaders in northern Iraq "should not make statements whose burden they can not carry."

The dispute between Turkey and Iraqi Kurds stemmed from a planned citywide referendum on the status of Kirkuk by the end of this year, which many believe will favor Iraqi Kurds.

Turkey has said that the referendum should be canceled or else the outcome might widen the sectarian violence in Iraq that has so far largely left the northern part of Iraq untouched.

It is reported that hundreds of thousands of Kurds have been moved to Kirkuk from different places in northern Iraq in recent years to alter the city's population structure before the referendum.

Turkish leaders have warned that Turkey could not "stand idly by" if Iraqi Kurds seize control of Kirkuk.

Some officials have said that they will not rule out military intervention amid growing tensions among ethnic Turkmen, Arabs and Kurds in the oil-rich region around Kirkuk.

Ankara fears that an independent Kurdish homeland in northern Iraq would spark separatism among its own Kurdish minority in Turkey's southeastern regions.

Infuriated by the threats made by Barzani, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul phoned U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Saturday and expressed Turkey's uneasiness over Barzani's statement, according to local media.

Gul, who replied to questions of journalists before attending ceremonies to mark the 162nd anniversary of Turkish Police Department, said on Monday that everyone would see Turkey's answer, Anatolia reported.

Commenting on Barzani's remarks on Kirkuk, Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said that "Turkey's hand is solid like iron for those who are not friends and no one should doubt Turkey's strength."

"Those who are not friends of Turkey are destined to feel Turkey's iron fist," he underlined.

Source: Xinhua