Turkey’s prime minister is warning Kurds in Iraq and Syria against efforts to form “artificial” independent states that would threaten its security, AP reported.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim made the comments Monday in Sanliurfa province, near the border with Syria, a week before Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region is scheduled to hold a referendum on independence.

Yildirim said, “No one should hatch up plans for a fait accompli at our southern borders... We would not refrain from taking the necessary measures.”

Earlier, Turkey’s military said it had kicked off a previously unannounced drill near its border with Iraq.