ERBIL (Sputnik) – The Russian consulate general in Erbil is unaware of closure of diplomatic missions in Iraqi Kurdistan, consul general Viktor Simakov told Sputnik on Wednesday.
“I have not heard about this, I will have to verify this information,” Simakov said.
27 September 2017, 14:26 GMT
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the Iraqi parliament called on the country's government to summon the ambassadors of the states which had diplomatic missions in Iraqi Kurdistan region to inform them about closure and transfer to other provinces in light of the region’s independence referendum.
On Monday, the independence vote took place in Iraq's autonomous region of Kurdistan as well as in the disputed areas de jure controlled by Baghdad but under de facto control of Kurdish authorities. After 9 percent of votes had been counted, more than 93 percent of voters backed the independence of the region. Iraqi authorities said that the referendum was not legitimate and stressed that they would not conduct talks with the authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan on the issue of the vote.
