The Southern Kurdistan Administration has protested the Iraqi central government for pushing the cancellation of the independence referendum as a condition for dialogue. Government Spokesperson Sefin Dizayi said: “Voiding the outcome isn’t as easy as the authorities in Baghdad think it is.”

Dizayi issued a written statement and said: “The referendum does not belong to the government or any one political party, it belongs to the people. The people have decided on their future in the framework of this referendum.”

Dizayi defended the presence of the peshmerga in the disputed territories and stated that the peshmerga had entered said areas because of ISIS: “The peshmerga isn’t an outside force that came into Iraq and invaded these areas. The peshmerga forces are, as stated in the Iraqi constitution, part of Iraq’s federal defense system.”

ABADİ: CANCELLATION IS A MUST FOR DIALOGUE

The Baghdad administration on the other hand demands a cancellation of the referendum to start a dialogue with the regional government. Most recently, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said: “The Kurdistan region must first cancel the results of the anti-constitutional referendum and then should enter a serious dialogue with Baghdad to strengthen the integrity of Iraq.”