Head of UNAMI welcomes referendum talks between Erbil, Baghdad

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) Jan Kubis welcomed dialogue initiated by the Kurdistan Region with the Iraqi government regarding the independence referendum.

In a statement released by the UNAMI on Thursday, Kubis welcomed the dialogue between Baghdad and Erbil and expressed readiness to support both sides’ efforts for continued talks.

On Wednesday, a delegation from the Kurdistan Referendum Council met with Kubis, Iraqi officials, and political parties in Baghdad to discuss the upcoming independence referendum.

Kubis “urged the two sides to agree on a roadmap with timelines on how to resolve all outstanding issues and implement the agreed conclusions in a positive spirit of genuine partnership,” the statement read.

In the meeting with the Kurdistan delegation, Kubis expressed the UNAMI’s readiness to “provide its good offices, advice, assistance, and support, if and as requested by the two sides.”

“We are encouraged by the visit of a political delegation from the [Kurdistan Region] to Baghdad as agreed with their counterparts in Baghdad, and strongly support this effort,” Kubis added.

The UNAMI head emphasized that dialogue was “the politically correct way to address all pending issues between the two sides.”

In his July UN Security Council briefing, Kubis said the referendum should not be pursued without an understanding between the Federal Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Despite objections from neighboring countries, as well as the US, senior KRG officials have agreed to hold the independence referendum on Sep. 25, 2017.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany