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World countries continue to voice harsh criticism over the independence referendum held by Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on Monday, condemning the vote as a move that would work to the detriment of the entire region and destabilize the Middle East.
On September 25, the Iraqi Kurdistan region held an independence referendum in the face of strong objections from the central government in Baghdad and urgent calls from the international community, except Washington and Tel Aviv, to scrap the vote.
The voting stations were dotted across the three provinces of Erbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk that form the Iraqi Kurdistan region as well as in the disputed bordering zones such as the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
On the night of the same day, thousands of Kurdish people in favor of KRG’s secession from Iraq took to the streets in Erbil, with some waving Israeli flags to celebrate.
Iran condemnation
The Iranian Parliament on Wednesday condemned the Iraqi Kurdistan region’s move to hold the independence referendum, saying such separatist measures are to the detriment of Iraq and the whole region.
In a statement signed by 210 lawmakers, the Parliament voiced support for the Iraqi government and legislature and condemned the KRG’s plan to secede from Iraq.
The Iranian Parliament believes that any measure creating crisis in Iraq would harm the Arab country’s democratic progress and that separatist measures are detrimental to the Iraqi nation and the entire region, the statement added.
The lawmakers also asked the Iranian administration to promote cooperation with the Baghdad government to prevent Zionists’ adventurism in Iraq.
The Iraqi Kurdistan region went ahead with its plan to hold the referendum on Monday while Iraq’s neighbors and countries in the Middle East, including Iran and Turkey, had voiced opposition to such a move and supported the Baghdad central government.
Call for cancelation
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi demanded on Wednesday that Kurdish authorities “cancel” the outcome of the independence referendum in northern Iraq, as a condition for dialogue to resolve an escalating crisis.
In a speech to Parliament, Abadi renewed his ultimatum to Masoud Barzani’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to hand over control of international airports by Friday or face a ban on direct international flights to the Kurdish region.
“We won’t have a dialogue about the referendum outcome,” Abadi told Parliament. “If they want to start talks, they must cancel the referendum and its outcome.”
His demand was rejected by KRG Transport Minister Mowlud Murad on Wednesday. He told a news conference in the Kurdish capital Erbil that keeping control of airports and maintaining direct international flights to Erbil was necessary for the fight against the Daesh.
Kurdish leaders say the referendum was held to give them a mandate to negotiate the peaceful secession of their region with Baghdad and Iraq’s powerful neighbors Iran and Turkey.
Murad expressed the hope that the crisis could be resolved by Friday, saying it would damage Kurdistan’s economy.
The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority sent a notice on Wednesday to foreign airlines, telling them international flights to Erbil and Sulaimaniya in the Kurdish region would be suspended on Friday at 1500 GMT, and only domestic flights allowed.
Territorial integrity
Russia on Wednesday also warned Iraq and the Kurds against taking any steps that might destabilize the Middle East after the Kurdish independence referendum, encouraging both sides to hold talks to find a solution within the framework of a single Iraqi state.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in the same statement, also said that while Moscow respected the Kurds’ national ambitions, it favored preserving the territorial integrity of Iraq.
“Moscow’s position in supporting Iraq’s sovereignty and integrity and other countries in the Middle East has not changed,” stressed the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Destabilization of region possible
France warned Iraq’s Kurdish region on Wednesday that a declaration of independence would likely destabilize the region, but called on the central Iraqi government to give the Kurds greater autonomy.
“What would be desirable today is that Kurdish Iraq be integrated in the reconstruction of Iraq, reconciliation of Iraq by having the greatest amount of autonomy possible,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian told BFM TV.
“It does not seem timely today to have independence … but (if) a declaration of independence happened it would provoke new major crises in the Middle East at a time when Islamic State is being defeated in Iraq.”
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyep Erdogan said Iraqi Kurds would go hungry if his country halted the flow of trucks and oil across the border, warning that Turkey could take military and economic measures against its neighbor after the referendum.
Turkey, home to the region’s largest Kurdish population, has been battling a three-decade insurgency in its largely Kurdish southeast and fears the referendum would inflame separatist tensions at home.
Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who have stressed the need for Iraq’s borders to remain unchanged, will meet in Ankara today.