KRG to maintain plan for holding independence referendum: Official

ERBIL - Reuters

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will maintain their plan to hold a referendum on independence on Sept. 25, despite a U.S. request to postpone it, a high-ranking Kurdish official told Reuters on Aug. 12.

"The date is standing, Sept. 25, no change," said Hoshyar Zebari, a close adviser to KRG President Massoud Barzani, commenting on the request communicated by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The U.S. State Department said in June it was concerned that the referendum will distract from "more urgent priorities" such as the defeat of Islamic State, Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.
Previously, The United States has asked Iraq's Kurds to postpone a referendum on the independence of their autonomous Kurdish region, planned for Sept. 25, the Kurdish presidency said.
    
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the request on Aug. 11, during a phone call with the KRG's President Massoud Barzani.
    
The U.S. State Department said in June it was concerned that the referendum will distract from "more urgent priorities" such as the defeat of Islamic State militants.
    
"On the issue of the postponement of the referendum, the President (Barzani) stated that the people of the Kurdistan Region would expect guarantees and alternatives for their future," said the statement issued by the Kurdish presidency after Tillerson's call, giving no further details on the Kurdish leader's reaction to the U.S. request.
    
The United States and other Western nations are concerned that the vote could turn into another regional flashpoint.

Turkey, Iran and Syria also oppose an independent Kurdistan.