Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraqi Kurdish Leader Says No Turning back on Independence Bid

Jul 6, 2017 | Samia Nakhoul, Maher Chmaytelli, and Stephen Kalin, Reuters
View Original

Iraq's Kurdish leader said on Thursday that there was no turning back on a bid to achieve an independent Kurdish state, but he would pursue it through dialogue with Baghdad and regional powers to avoid conflict. Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), told Reuters in an interview that the timetable for independence after a Sept. 25 vote on the issue was "flexible but not open-ended". He expected a "yes vote".