Iraq urges KRG to cancel referendum results

BAGHDAD

The Iraqi government has called on the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) to cancel the results of an illegitimate independence referendum before engaging in dialogue.

"The KRG has to cancel the illegitimate referendum results to empower Iraq's unity for a serious dialogue with Baghdad,” Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s office said in a statement on Monday.

The statement called on the KRG to "end provocation in the areas it seized and abide by the decisions taken by the Federal and Constitutional court."

Tension has been high between Baghdad and Erbil since the latter held a controversial referendum last week on secession from Iraq.

The poll has been denounced by Iraq and its neighbors, who view it as illegitimate, and Baghdad has moved to ban international flights into KRG-held areas and close foreign missions in the Kurdish region.

According to figures released by the KRG, almost 93 percent of voters cast ballots in favor of independence from Baghdad.

Reporting by Haydar Hadi; Writing by Ali Murat Alhas;