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Turkey’s highest security body has branded as “illegal and unacceptable” plans by Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region to hold a referendum on independence, Washington Post reported.

A statement issued after a three hour-long National Security Council meeting on Friday that was chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would exert its rights should Iraqi Kurds go ahead with the referendum despite Turkey’s “warnings.”

The statement did not spell out what steps Turkey would take but said it had rights emanating from international and bilateral agreements.

Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey’s would never accept Iraq’s breakup and would not refrain from taking steps to prevent it.

This week, the military launched previously unannounced military exercises near the border with Iraq as Turkey stepped up pressure on the Kurdish region to abandon the vote.

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