“A few months ago, I stressed on two or three occasions that this referendum is not constitutional. If you look at the Iraqi constitution, it is clear that we live in one homeland and are partners in this homeland. No unilateral action should be taken,” Abadi said.
Reviewing the historical relationship between Kurds and Arabs, Abadi said there was “sensitivity” between Kurds and the regime of Saddam Hussein. But now, “there is no sensitivity,” he said, commending “very good” relations between the Peshmerga and the Iraqi army, who fought together against ISIS and “finished it.”
“The Kurds were always saying that the Iraqi army had oppressed them, and the previous Iraqi army was saying that the Kurds were killing them in their attacks. Thank God, this army is unlike the previous one. Likewise, the current Peshmerga forces are unlike the previous ones too. We are now a united country.”
Abadi said he hoped there was some alternative to Kurdistan leaving Iraq. “I emphasize this, and I say, for example, I want to be a Kurd because the prime minister can be from any ethnicity. I want to become a Kurd. It is in the interests of the Kurds to be part of Iraq. It is in national, economic, trade, and security interests, if the Kurds are part of Iraq.”
Abadi cautioned that neighbouring countries and the whole region “will feel under threat” if the Kurdistan Region gains independence.
He said that the Sykes-Picot borders, while not something he supports, are the reality and must be accepted. If the borders are changed now, families will be separated and “there will be blood and casualties,” he warned.
Pointing out the Kurds serving within the Iraqi government, including the president, Abadi called on Kurds, as first class citizens, to “continue the coordination we have between us.”
He urged the political parties of Iraq to meet in order to resolve this problem “in a national way.”
