Kurdish stamp commemorating pope's visit to Erbil fans Turkish conspiracy fears
Ankara is furious over a commemorative stamp design featuring a map of Iraqi Kurdistan that includes chunks of Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast provinces.
![1305838328 ERBIL, IRAQ - MARCH 07: A nun waves a flag as Pope Francis arrives to conduct a mass at the Franso Hariri Stadium on March 07, 2021 in Erbil, Iraq. PPope Francis arrived in Erbil, the final stop of his historic four-day visit, the first-ever papal visit to Iraq. In his first foreign trip since the start of the pandemic, Pope Francis visited Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil, and the cities of Qaraqosh and Mosul, which were heavily destroyed by ISIS. Although the trip is seen as an act of solidarity, the Vatican has bee](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2021/03/GettyImages-1305838328.jpg/GettyImages-1305838328.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=kGdv8_xP)
Turkey lashed out at Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Wednesday over its plans to print a commemorative stamp to mark Pope Francis’ March 7 visit to Erbil, the last leg of his historic tour of Iraq.
Ankara went bananas because the stamp featured a map of Iraqi Kurdistan that included chunks of Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast provinces with the pontiff’s profile partially covering it. “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 Foreign Ministry said in a statement, demanding that KRG officials immediately rectify the “mistake.”