NEW YORK — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking to Al-Monitor during his visit to New York for this week’s UN General Assembly session, addressed his country’s stance on the upcoming independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, EU-Turkey ties, Ankara’s expanding cooperation with Russia and concerns about the Gulen movement’s influence within the US judiciary.

Cavusoglu, a founding member of the ruling Justice and Development Party, maintained Turkey’s opposition to the independence referendum scheduled for Sept. 25. The referendum “will not bring stability or more rights to the Kurds in Iraq,” he said, calling the proposed plebiscite a “big mistake.”

He argued that if the issue at hand is constitutional rights for Iraq’s Kurds, Ankara is willing to help. “Together we can be mediators, we can even be guarantors of their rights,” he said. He called on the United Nations to stop the referendum, saying that in this regard, “The UN Security Council can play an important role."

Cavusoglu, who previously served as the chief negotiator for Turkish accession to the European Union (EU), claimed recent tensions with the bloc resulted from a rise in Islamophobia and xenophobia, as well as concerns related to upcoming elections in Europe. He stressed that Turkey has been very helpful toward the EU when it comes to migration issues and contributing to the security of the continent, and Ankara is “ready to open any chapter” of negotiations, in reference to the 35 chapters necessary to complete the accession process. He warned, however, that “if the EU wants to be a global power, the EU should be more inclusive," and that “the EU should understand that [it] is no longer the boss.”