President Barzani, UN Secretary General discuss independence referendum

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The UN Secretary-General on Thursday arrived in Erbil and was received by the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani at the Erbil International Airport.

Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, arrived in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, and is scheduled to hold meetings with the Region’s officials.

According to a statement released by the Kurdistan Region Presidency (KRP), President Barzani and Guterres have discussed the mechanism of holding a referendum in the Kurdistan Region.

President Barzani said that in the near future a referendum would be held in order for the world to know the will and decision of the people of the Kurdistan Region.

In the meeting, the UN Secretary-General said that they would try to mobilize support for the Kurdistan Region, stating that the international community has not been fully supportive of the Kurdistan Region despite it sheltering the IDPs, the KRP statement added.

Guterres expressed United Nations’ readiness to fully cooperate with and coordinate between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to resolve the disputes between them, particularly in the post-Islamic State (IS) era.

Following meetings with President Barzani and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials, the UN Secretary-General is expected to visit the camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Erbil.

Early morning on Thursday, Guterres arrived at the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and met with several Iraqi officials, including the Iraqi President Fuad Masum and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Following his arrival, Guterres said in a Tweet that the visit was "to focus on the dire humanitarian situation on the ground. Protection of civilians must be the absolute priority."