ERBIL, Iraq--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".
The vote could turn into another regional flashpoint, with Turkey, Iran and Syria, along with Iraq the states with sizeable Kurdish populations, all resolutely opposed to an independent Kurdistan in northern Iraq. But Barzani played down such fears.
Within Iraq's borders, there is growing concern the real purpose of the referendum is not secession, but to strengthen Kurdish claims over hotly disputed territory adjoining recognised KRG boundaries, such as the oil-rich region and city of Kirkuk, whose future has been in play for over a decade. Inside the KRG, parties such as the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of Jalal Talabani or the dissident Gorran group, all favour independence but not necessarily under the leadership of Barzani and his Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
At his palace in the hillside village of Salahaddin, Barzani said the vote would decide the fate of Kirkuk, which Kurdish Peshmerga forces prevented Islamic State from capturing in 2014. "Whatever the people of Kirkuk decide within the referendum, that decision should be respected," said a relaxed Barzani.
The Peshmerga effectively runs Kirkuk, also claimed by Turkmen and Arabs. Hardline Iran-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militias have threatened to expel the Kurds by force from this region and three other disputed areas - Sinjar, Makhmour and Khanaqin.
Barzani, a Kurdish nationalist who has long championed the rights of his people, said negotiations with Baghdad, neighbours and international powers would start immediately after the vote in order to reach an amicable agreement. "Our main goal is to implement and achieve the decision of our people through peace and dialogue," he said, wearing his traditional Peshmerga uniform.
Barzani accused the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government, backed by Iran, of not sticking to a constitutional agreement of allowing the Kurds to have greater powers under a federal state set up after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. "For 14 years we have been waiting and we have been discussing this partnership but we have always been told it's not a good time and it's not acceptable timing so my question is, when is the right time?"
The Kurds have been seeking an independent state since at least the end of World War One, when colonial powers divided up the Middle East, but their territory ended up split between modern-day Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. Saddam's government waged the Anfal campaign against them in the 1980s, killing tens of thousands including with poison gas in the city of Halabja.
Barzani, whose father led struggles against Baghdad in the 1960s and 1970s, grew up in Iranian exile but returned as a teenager, joined the Peshmerga and took on the mantle of resistance. He said the Kurds were ready to take responsibility for the outcome of the referendum.
