Baghdad Not to Recognize Result of Kurdish Independence Vote

The spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office, described holding an independence referendum in the Arab country’s Kurdistan region as an “unlawful” move, stressing that the central government would not recognize the result of the upcoming vote.

The independence that the Kurdistan region is seeking to achieve is an “unlawful move”, which is in conflict with Iraq’s unity and integrity, Sa'ad al-Hadithi told Sputnik on Saturday.

He said, “Based on the Constitution, the Kurdistan region has federal authorities and no one has the right to change the current situation (in the Arab country) unilaterally”.

“We are not looking for civil war,” al-Hadithi stressed, noting that the central Iraqi government, however, will not recognize the result of the poll whatever it could be.

The comments came after officials in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region announced that the northern territory will hold an independence referendum on September 25.

In the meantime, Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), told BBC on Saturday that he did not want to engage in a military conflict with Baghdad over the independence of the Kurdistan region.
 (Tasnim)
 9/9/17
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