Tillerson: US does not recognize Kurdistan vote

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

WASHINGTON: The US “does not recognize” Iraqi Kurds’ “unilateral” referendum on independence and calls on all parties to reject the use of force and engage in dialogue, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday.
“The United States does not recognize the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) unilateral referendum held on Monday,” he said in a statement.
“The vote and the results lack legitimacy and we continue to support a united, federal, democratic and prosperous Iraq.
“The United States asks all parties, including Iraq’s neighbors, to reject unilateral actions and the use of force.”
The top US diplomat said Washington was “concerned about the potential negative consequences of this unilateral step.”
“We urge Iraqi Kurdish authorities to respect the constitutionally mandated role of the central government and we call upon the central government to reject threats or even allusion to possible use of force,” Tillerson said, urging all sides to remain focused on the fight against Daesh.
Washington had previously warned that the vote in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq and some disputed areas — which was non-binding and will not lead automatically to independence — would “increase instability.”
Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi accepted an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday to come to Paris on Oct. 5 for talks on the Kurdish independence referendum, a source in Macron’s office said.
Macron had offered to help ease tensions between Baghdad and the KRG over Monday’s referendum and had warned that any further escalation should be avoided.
In a statement after a telephone call with Al-Abadi, Macron’s office said he had invited Al-Abadi to Paris, but warned that the two sides should remain united in their priority to defeat Daesh and stabilize Iraq.
“All escalation should be avoided,” Macron said in the statement.
“The president ... recalled the importance of preserving unity and Iraq’s (territorial) integrity while recognizing the rights of the Kurdish people,” the statement said. “With the priority to fight Islamic State (Daesh) and the stabilization of Iraq, Iraqis must remain united.”
The office of Al-Abadi, however, on Saturday denied that Macron’s invitation had any link to the crisis with Iraqi Kurdistan.
“There is no relation between the invitation and the crisis caused by the unconstitutional referendum,” it said.
“The visit aims to reinforce bilateral relations and to focus on the fight against terrorism in the region in which Iraq has achieved enormous victories,” it added.
Iraqi forces ousted Daesh from the northern Nineveh province on Aug. 31, and is now fighting to retake the terrorist group’s last footholds in the country.
Abadi’s office stressed the invitation was first made when French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defense Minister Florence Parly visited Baghdad on Aug. 26.
It said Macron had made no mention of “the need to recognize the rights of the Kurds or stopping an escalation by Baghdad.”
“On the contrary, there was a condemnation of the insistence of the Kurdish leadership to hold this referendum and expose the region to instability.”