Spiegel Interview - with Germany's Foreign Minister: "Splitting Iraq Would Lead to Terrible Bloodshed"
Steinmeier: "For the time being, all efforts have to be focused on preventing Iraq from breaking apart. Diplomats like to talk about "territorial integrity," which has to be preserved at all costs".
SPIEGEL: Why is that? Wouldn't the easiest solution simply be to split up the country into separate Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite territories?
Steinmeier: "No, that would be the most dangerous solution because the borders of the individual territories would be hugely disputed. Does the oil-rich Kirkuk region belong to the Kurds or the Sunnis? And both Sunnis and Shiites live in the greater Baghdad area. I am convinced that splitting up the country would lead to terrible bloodshed. Also, it has to be taken into account that neighboring countries would get involved. There have already been warnings about this from Turkey and Saudi Arabia."
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