Postage stamp in Iraq’s KRG marks Pope’s visit, Turkey gets angry
ERBIL, Iraq (north Press) – On Wednesday, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG) to quickly clarify a “serious mistake” it had made during the visit of Pope Francis.
“It was found that among the commemorative postage stamps that the KRG is expected to print on the occasion of Pope Francis visit to Iraq, there is a stamp depicting a map that includes some governorates in our country,” the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in statement.
“We expect the authorities of the KRG to issue a clarification as soon as possible in order to correct this serious mistake immediately,” it added.
“There are officials in the administration of northern Iraq who have taken advantage of the Pope’s visit to show their dreams regarding the territorial integrity of the countries neighboring Iraq,” the statement noted.
In turn, the KRG issued a clarification regarding the matter saying that a number of artists presented examples of commemorative stamps for the visit of Pope Francis to Kurdistan, to the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
“These postage stamps are only proposals and have not yet been approved,” KRG spokesperson, Jotyar Adel, said in a press conference.
“The Kurdistan government deals with this issue within the framework of the constitution and Iraqi sovereignty, as well as respecting the principle of good neighborhood,” he added.