Baghdad Would Not Support Any Unilateral Kurdish Steps Aimed at Independence

Iraqi authorities will not back any unilateral steps taken by Iraqi Kurdistan that are aimed at gaining independence, as such moves would violate the country's Constitution, Iraqi government spokesman Saad Hadithi said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Baghdad has to rely on the Constitution to regulate relations with Kurdish authorities, Hadithi noted.

"Any decision that concerns the future of Iraq must take into consideration the constitutional texts as it is an Iraqi decision… All Iraqis must have their say over the future of their homeland. It is not possible for one party to determine its fate independent of others," Hadithi was quoted as saying by the Rudaw news agency.

On June 7, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani set September 25 as the date for an independence referendum.

The referendum will be held throughout Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as in disputed territory, such as the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which was rescued from Daesh takeover by Kurdish Peshmerga forces after Iraqi forces fled the city in 2014.

Iraqi Kurdistan is nation's only autonomous region. The autonomy agreement between the Kurdish opposition and the Iraqi government was reached in March 1970 after military clashes. The Iraqi constitution of 2005 defines the Kurdistan region as a federal entity of Iraq.