No talks based on Kurd region poll results: Iraqi PM

BAGHDAD

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Wednesday said his government would “never negotiate” with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) based on results of Monday’s illegitimate referendum in northern Iraq.

Al-Abadi made the assertion at a parliamentary session convened specifically to discuss Monday’s illegal poll.

During the session, attended by several government ministers and 184 of the assembly’s 328 members, al-Abadi stated: “We won’t negotiate -- with anyone -- based on the referendum results.”

The unconstitutional referendum, he added, would “not have any impact” on Baghdad’s long-running talks with the KRG over oil-export revenues, the KRG’s share of Iraq’s national budget and territories disputed between Baghdad and Erbil, the KRG’s administrative capital.

“We warned the KRG of the [referendum’s] possible repercussions,” he said. “We told them we would not allow it to violate the [Iraqi] constitution.”

“The Iraqi government will impose its constitutional mandate across the [Kurdish] region,” he added. “Of this you can be sure.”

Al-Abadi went on to assert that, starting Friday, airports in the northern Iraqi cities of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah would face boycotts by Arab and international airlines.

On Tuesday, al-Abadi gave the KRG until Friday to surrender control of the two airports or face a wide-ranging boycott.

The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority, for its part, has also asked foreign airlines to suspend all flights to KRG-controlled areas by Friday.

Monday’s controversial referendum had faced opposition from most international actors, many of whom had warned that the poll would destabilize the region and distract from the ongoing fight against the Daesh terrorist group.

Reporting by Ibrahim Saleh; Writing by Ali Abo Rezeg;