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Türkiye has called on all parties in Iraq to exercise restraint ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary elections after violence erupted in Kirkuk over damaged campaign materials belonging to the Iraqi Turkmen Front.
The appeal came as tensions flared in the northern Iraqi city following attacks on election posters of the ITF, a political party representing Iraq's ethnic Turkmen minority. The incidents resulted in casualties among security forces.
"Türkiye is closely following developments in coordination with ITF officials after the incidents sparked by the attacks on ITF campaign posters," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said in a statement posted on the ministry's website Tuesday.
"Relevant parties have been advised to act with common sense," he said, offering condolences to the security personnel who lost their lives in the incidents and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
Keceli emphasized Kirkuk's strategic importance as a diverse city that reflects Iraq's broader ethnic and sectarian makeup, warning that maintaining stability there is critical during the election period.
"Kirkuk, with its social diversity, is like a microcosm of Iraq," he said, stressing that the city's peace must be preserved.
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The Turkish diplomat said Ankara expects Iraqi authorities to implement necessary security measures to protect all communities in Kirkuk as voting approaches.
Türkiye expressed hope that the elections would proceed peacefully and strengthen Iraq's national unity and territorial integrity. The country maintains close ties with Iraq's Turkmen population, an ethnic minority concentrated in northern Iraq who speak a Turkic language and share cultural links with Türkiye.
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