MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Iraqi government is in favor of continuing dialogue with the Kurdistan region, but only if the results of the independence referendum are not taken into account, Haidar Mansour Hadi said Tuesday.
"It's very difficult to continue the dialogue when the results [of the referendum] have been accepted. It should be an open dialogue, but without adopting the results of the referendum, as it was illegal," Hadi said at a news conference in the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.
The ambassador stressed that Baghdad did not accept the results of the referendum. Hadi added that Baghdad hoped "until the last moment" that the authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan "would refuse to make such a step." He noted that negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad were underway and that addressing the country's constitution might prove beneficial for the settlement.
However, the diplomat remained optimistic about the situation in the country, calling tensions a temporary situation that would be resolved after the Kurds complied with the Iraqi constitution of 2005, the writing of which they had participated in.
He also said that Baghdad believes that any military conflict between people living in Iraq is unacceptable and will make every effort to avoid it. He pointed out that the Iraqi federal government considers the Kurdish-populated region of Kirkuk, which voted in the independence referendum, a part of Iraq, which should obey the central government. He noted that the government strongly opposed any attempts to grant any special status to this region.
