EU says ‘unilateral steps’ on holding Kurdistan referendum must be avoided

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The European Union on Monday discouraged the Kurdistan Region from holding an independence referendum on Sep. 25, 2017.

“Unilateral steps must be avoided [and] all open questions must be resolved through consensual positions” based on the constitution of Iraq, EU Foreign Ministers said in a statement.

The ministers did not specifically mention the Kurdish referendum but called on all parties in the Region to “seek common ground” and consider holding regional elections.

Top senior Kurdistan Region officials have repeatedly mentioned there is no return from holding a referendum, adding the people of Kurdistan have the right to decide their future.

“My plea to the free world is not to stand against…the self-determination and peaceful democratic rights of our nation,” the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani previously stated in an interview with Foreign Policy.

Kurdish representatives have continuously accused officials in Baghdad of ignoring the Iraqi constitution and cutting the Kurdistan Region’s federal budget since the beginning of 2014.

They also repeatedly mention there is no real partnership in governing Iraq.

Since the removal of Iraq’s dictatorship in 2003, there are significant issues that remain unsolved between Erbil and Baghdad.

These issues involve the disputed territories including the oil-rich province of Kirkuk and oil revenue in general.

Senior Kurdish officials have stated that following the referendum, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) would launch peaceful dialogue and negotiations with Baghdad for an “amicable divorce.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany