Tillerson confirms to Abadi his country's rejection of the referendum of Kurdistan




Last updated: 24 June 2017 - 2:24 PM

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Saturday that his country rejected the planned referendum in the Kurdistan region and congratulated on Wednesday the success of the liberation of Mosul and the political and diplomatic success of regional openness.

Iraq. A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said Abadi received a phone call today from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who congratulated Abadi on the successes achieved in the battle to liberate Mosul and the political and diplomatic success of regional openness to Iraq.

The results of the recent visit to Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the State of Kuwait were reviewed. Abadi said, according to the statement, "the clear Iraqi vision to keep the region away from the specter of conflict and war, and a serious move to confirm the cultural and historical, and the development of economic interests between the peoples of the region and their countries.

Tillerson valued Iraq's balanced positions on regional crises and problems and the importance of Iraq's role in regional stability and cooperation among its countries. For his part, Abadi stressed that "all domestic and foreign efforts should be directed to focus on eliminating terrorist gangs and not to engage in side battles."

Mr. Tilerson agreed with this approach and stressed that the United States will remain focused on fighting the Da'ash. The US Secretary of State reiterated the position of the United States not to support the planned referendum in Kurdistan, and the need to focus efforts to cooperate with the central government to meet the challenges of stability and reconstruction after the completion of liberation battles.

Abadi stressed the importance of benefiting from the successful experience of cooperation between the army and Peshmerga in the battles to liberate Mosul, pointing to the need to unify positions and to mobilize international efforts to support the financial, economic and state institutions.

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