Sputnik News- Permanent Representative of Iraq to the Arab League says that the organization considers the referendum on Iraqi Kurdistan's independence illegal.




The foreign ministers of�the League of�Arab States (Arab League) called the referendum on�Iraqi Kurdistan's independence from�Iraq illegal, adding that it would pose a threat to�the Middle Eastern security, Permanent Representative of�Iraq to�the Arab League Habib Sadr said.

Sadr said on�Wednesday that the Arab League's foreign ministers considered "the referendum illegal and inconsistent with�the Constitution of�Iraq."

According to�the official, the foreign ministers urged all the parties concerned to�pursue a dialogue-oriented approach and address all existing disagreements in�accordance with�the Iraqi Constitution.
"The ministers decided to�support the territorial integrity of�Iraq and assumed that this referendum posed a threat not only to�the unity of�Iraq but�also to�the security in�the whole region," Sadr added.


Sadr indicated that other Arab states feared that�the Iraqi Kurdistan's independence referendum�might trigger similar acts outside�Iraq and lead to�unmanageable processes in�the Middle East.

Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria all have significant Kurdish minorities, but�only Iraq has an official autonomous Kurdish region.

The Kurds, making up�about 20 percent of�the Iraqi population, have been seeking self-governance for�decades. In 2005, Iraq�s Constitution recognized Kurdistan as�an autonomous region run by�the Kurdistan Regional Government.

In June, Masoud Barzani, the president of�Iraqi Kurdistan, set September 25 as�the date for�the referendum on�the region's independence from�Iraq, prompting criticism from�the international community.