BAGHDAD: Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi demanded on Wednesday that the Kurdish authorities "cancel" the outcome of the independence referendum they held in northern Iraq on Monday. </s> BAGHDAD: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi demanded on Wednesday that this week´s vote on independence for the autonomous Kurdish region be annulled.

"The referendum must be annulled and dialogue initiated in the framework of the constitution. We will never hold talks on the results of the referendum," he told Iraqi lawmakers.

The results of Monday´s referendum have not yet been announced but an overwhelming "yes" vote was widely expected. </s> Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Wednesday called for the result of the Kurdistan independence referendum to be cancelled if the Kurds want dialogue, Reuters reported.

“We won’t have a dialogue about the referendum outcome,” Abadi said in Parliament. “If they want to start talks, they must cancel the referendum and its outcome.”

Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani had claimed that a majority of Kurds had voted in favour of independence from Iraq in the non-binding referendum held on Monday.

Abadi has also asked Barzani’s Kurdistan Regional Government to hand over control of international airports by Friday or face a ban on direct international flights to the Kurdish region in north Iraq.

In response, Murad said keeping control of airports was necessary for the fight against the Islamic State group.

Kurds make up the fourth-largest ethnic group in West Asia and have long wanted a separate state of their own. However, rivals as well as allies of the Kurdish Regional Government, are opposed to their independence. The Iraqi government, the United States, Iran and Turkey all called the referendum illegitimate, saying it is a dangerous step towards the division of the country.

Last week, the United Nations Security Council had said the referendum could have a “potentially destabilising impact”, and the Iraqi Supreme Court had suspended it. </s> ANKARA (Sputnik) — The Turkish Foreign Ministry called on the authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan to cancel the planned independence referendum, warning that the region would otherwise "pay a price," according to a statement seen by Sputnik on Thursday.

In June, Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, set September 25 as the date for the independence referendum. Baghdad has repeatedly criticized the move and the Iraqi Parliament has already voted against the referendum.

"If the authorities of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government insist on their approach to the referendum, despite all the friendly recommendations, they will pay a price. We call on them to abandon such approach and to be sane," the statement said.

The ministry added that it had welcomed the decision of the Iraqi Parliament that declared the expected vote illegal.

The referendum has been criticized not only by Iraqi authorities, but also by other countries. For example, Turkey and Iran, two states where Kurds also reside, have voiced a common position that the referendum could result in tensions in the region and called on Iraqi Kurdistan to cancel the initiative. </s> Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi demanded Wednesday that this week's vote on independence for the autonomous Kurdish region be annulled.

"The referendum must be annulled and dialogue initiated in the framework of the constitution. We will never hold talks on the results of the referendum," he told Iraqi lawmakers.

"We will impose Iraqi law in the entire region of Kurdistan under the constitution," he said.

The results of Monday's referendum have not yet been announced but an overwhelming "yes" vote was widely expected.

Pressure has been mounting on the Kurds since the vote, not just from Baghdad but also from Ankara, with Turkey threatening a range of measures including cutting off oil exports from the region. </s> CAIRO (Sputnik) — The Iraqi parliament voted on Thursday to dismiss the governor of the Kirkuk province, which is in favor of holding a referendum on the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, a source in the deputy corps told Sputnik on Thursday.

“The Iraqi parliament voted for the resignation of the governor of Kirkuk,” the source said.

Earlier this week, the Iraqi parliament voted against the Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum.

In June, Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan, set September 25 as the date for an independence referendum. The announced referendum has been widely criticized by a number of countries, including Russia, Iran and the United States. While Moscow voiced support for Iraq’s unity and territorial integrity, Washington reportedly asked Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Masoud Barzani to postpone holding the region’s independence referendum.

In late March, Kirkuk authorities decided to raise the flag of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), an act which was met with criticism by the federal government. In early August, Kirkuk’s governor Najmaldin Karim told Sputnik that the region “has been and will be” part of Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi called the decision of the Iraqi province of Kirkuk to participate in the referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence a mistake.

In 2005, the Iraqi Constitution recognized Kurdistan as an autonomous region that was run by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Since then, Kurdistan’s authorities have repeatedly raised the issue of independence. </s> CAIRO (Sputnik) — The Iraqi parliament voted on Thursday to dismiss the governor of the Kirkuk province, which is in favor of holding a referendum on the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, a source in the deputy corps told Sputnik on Thursday.

"The Iraqi parliament voted for the resignation of the governor of Kirkuk," the source said.

Earlier this week, the Iraqi parliament voted against the Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum.

In June, Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan, set September 25 as the date for an independence referendum. The announced referendum has been widely criticized by a number of countries, including Russia, Iran and the United States. While Moscow voiced support for Iraq's unity and territorial integrity, Washington reportedly asked Iraqi Kurdistan’s President Masoud Barzani to postpone holding the region's independence referendum.

In 2005, the Iraqi Constitution recognized Kurdistan as an autonomous region that was run by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Since then, Kurdistan’s authorities have repeatedly raised the issue of independence. </s> On Sunday, the Assistant Director in the Department of Migration & Displaced in the Nineveh province, Nazem Yahya issued a statement that there are at least 7 thousand families returning from various Iraqi provinces. Yahya indicated in a televised interview that a large number of these families left provinces in the Kurdistan region and the camps under the control of Kurdish authorities. Now, they are returning to Mosul due to their fear about the referendum scheduled on Monday 25th September 2017. He further added that the Iraqi Immigration Department has started the registration of these families in order to provide relief and various types of assistance to them. The Kurdish Supreme Council for referendum had expressed its rejection about all proposals regarding the postponement of Kurdistan referendum. The Council said that referendum will take place on its announced date 25th September 2017.

The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court also ordered to stop the Kurdish referendum for independence on 25th September. The court said that it needs to examine complaints that the referendum in Kurdish region is violating the Iraqi constitution. The Iraqi Parliament voted on 12th September and rejected the Kurdish referendum and Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ordered on 18th September to stop the referendum process in the Kurdistan region. The Iraqi Parliament issued a decision and allowed the Iraqi Prime Minister to take essential steps to preserve the unity of Iraq. Iraqi Parliamentarian Nazim Al-Saadi said that referendum is against the principles of political process and Iraqi Constitution, but the Kurdish people can play a key role. He added that referendum is illegal and it allows Iraqi government to stop it by all means and all powers. Saadi added that the agitation of Kurds represent a disgraceful threat to political and security stability in Iraq. Iraqi Kurdistan is an independent region in Northern Iraq led by KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) President Massoud Barzani. </s> Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi demanded Wednesday that this week's vote on independence for the autonomous Kurdish region be annulled, as tensions soared between the Kurds and Baghdad.

The result of Monday's non-binding referendum had not yet been announced, but an overwhelming "yes" vote was widely expected.

Longtime Iraqi Kurd leader Massud Barzani has said the vote will not lead to an immediate declaration of independence and should instead open the door to negotiations.

But Abadi -- who rejected the referendum as illegal -- told lawmakers on Wednesday there was no question of using its results as the basis for talks.

"The referendum must be annulled and dialogue initiated in the framework of the constitution. We will never hold talks based on the results of the referendum," Abadi said.

"We will impose Iraqi law in the entire region of Kurdistan under the constitution," he said.

Pressure has been mounting on the Kurds since the vote, not just from Baghdad but also from Ankara, with Turkey threatening a range of measures including cutting off key export routes for the region.

Pursuing a long-cherished dream of statehood, the Kurds went ahead with the referendum in defiance of widespread objections, including from the United Nations and United States.

It has raised fears of unrest and the possibility of a military confrontation involving the Kurds, who are key allies in internationally backed offensives against the jihadists of the Islamic State group.

In a televised address late on Tuesday, Barzani had urged Abadi "not to close the door to dialogue because it is dialogue that will solve problems".

"We assure the international community of our willingness to engage in dialogue with Baghdad," he said, insisting the referendum was not meant "to delimit the border (between Kurdistan and Iraq), nor to impose it de facto."

Baghdad has steadily pushed back against the vote.

Lawmakers passed a resolution Monday to send troops to disputed areas where the referendum took place, but there have been no signs of a deployment yet.

Abadi said Tuesday he would ban all international flights to and from Kurdistan in three days unless airports in its main cities Arbil and Sulaimaniyah were placed under his government's control.

Iraqi authorities are also reported to have urged international carriers to stop flying to the regional capital Arbil.

Lebanon's Middle East Airlines and EgyptAir both said Wednesday they would halt flights to Arbil this week at the request of Baghdad.

Turkey fears the vote will stoke the separatist ambitions of its own sizeable Kurdish minority and on Tuesday President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Iraq's Kurds risked sparking an "ethnic war".

"If Barzani and the Kurdistan Regional Government do not go back on this mistake as soon as possible, they will go down in history with the shame of having dragged the region into an ethnic and sectarian war," he said.

Erdogan had earlier warned that Turkey would shut its border with Iraqi Kurdistan and threatened to block oil exports from the region through Turkey.

Erdogan even suggested the possibility of a cross-border incursion similar to the one Turkey carried out against IS and Kurdish fighters in Syria.

Monday's vote took place across the three northern provinces of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan -- Arbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk -- and in disputed border zones such as the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Officials reported that turnout for the referendum was 72 percent, with 3.3 million of the 4.58 million registered voters taking part.

Opponents have accused Barzani of seeking to empower himself through the vote, and said he should have accepted a UN-backed plan to postpone the referendum in favour of negotiations with Baghdad.

Analysts say that despite their threats both Baghdad and Ankara are proceeding cautiously in reacting to the vote, wary of sparking a serious confrontation with the Kurds that would further destabilise an already volatile region.

Left without a state of their own when the borders of the Middle East were redrawn after World War I, the Kurds see themselves as the world's largest stateless people.

The non-Arab ethnic group of between 25 and 35 million is spread across Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria.
Iraq's prime minister has demanded the Kurdistan Regional Government "cancel" the outcome of the referendum on independence that it held on Monday.