ANKARA, March 8: The Turkish government said on Monday it was dissatisfied with the new interim constitution of Iraq and warned it would pave the way for more instability in the country.

"The interim law does not satisfy us, it increases our concerns," Justice Minister Cemil Cicek said. "We see it as an arrangement that will not help the establishment of permanent peace in Iraq and one that will allow for the continuation for a long time of unrest and instability there," he said.

Mr Cicek did not specify which provisions of the interim constitution, which was signed in Baghdad earlier in the day, irked Turkey. Ankara has repeatedly warned against moves in Iraq that could help the Iraqi Kurds enhance their self-rule in the north of the country.

It fears that increased political influence for the Iraqi Kurds could set an example for their restive cousins in adjoining southeastern Turkey, where a bloody Kurdish rebellion has only recently subdued.

Under the interim constitution, Iraqi Kurdistan will retain its federal status and the rest of Iraq will be given the right to prepare to form states. The document also recognizes Arabic and Kurdish as the two official languages of Iraq. -AFP