A delegation of Iraqi Turkmen leaders are going to the United States on a lobbying mission to discuss the status of Turkmen in Iraq and the future of the disputed city of Kirkuk.

Below is an article written by Salih Boztas and published by Today’s Zaman:

Iraqi Turkmens, mostly excluded from the restructuring process in Iraq, are, for the first time, going to the United States on a lobbying mission.

A delegation of Iraqi Turkmen leaders, including Iraqi Turkmen Front (ITC) Chairman Sadettin Ergeç and ITC representative in Ankara, Ahmet Muratlı, is expected to receive a senior-level reception in Washington. The delegation has had talks with Ambassador Oğuz Çelikkol, Turkey's special envoy for Iraq, ahead of its trip to Washington scheduled for Saturday. The meeting focused on the overall situation in Iraq and the status of Turkmens, sources close to the talks said.

The status of the disputed city of Kirkuk, which is home to a sizable Turkmen community, is expected to be a key item on the Turkmen delegation's agenda during talks with US officials. Turkmens oppose plans to hold a referendum on whether Kirkuk should be a part of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, which currently includes three provinces. The referendum, also opposed by Turkey, is slated for the end of this year. Ankara says a referendum's result is a foregone conclusion, given the fact that tens of thousands of Kurds have migrated to Kirkuk in what it sees a systematic campaign to change the demographic structure of the oil-rich city ahead of the vote.

Turkish diplomatic sources say the referendum has to be postponed, given that a population census that should have been carried out in the run up to the referendum has not yet been carried out. Demands to delay the referendum are supported by other groups in Iraq as well, including Sunni Arabs who also constitute a part of Kirkuk's population. The ITC delegation also includes the group's representatives in London and Washington.