KRG authorities used the visit by the leader of the Roman Catholic Church to “express their unrealistic aspirations against the territorial integrity of Iraq’s neighboring countries,’’ the ministry said in a statement shared on its website.

The Pope Francis visited parts of northern Iraq previously held by Islamic State (ISIS), including the KRG, in a four-day historic trip to Iraq that began on Friday. The visit marked the Pope’s first foreign visit since the coronavirus pandemic.

The ministry called on called on the KRG officials to "immediately reverse the grave mistake’’ while pointing out administration should remember the "disappointing outcomes of such deceitful aims.’’

Turkey regularly targets the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, where the group’s headquarters are located.

Opposition leaders, including the leader of nationalist opposition Good Party Meral Aksener, criticized Erdogan for the stamp.

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