Tillerson calls for Iraqi unity, urges dialogue on Kurdish issue

Baghdad, Oct 24: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Monday that Washington was keen on dialogue between Iraqi government and the Iraqi Kurdish region to solve the Kurdish issue.

Tillerson made his remarks in his discussion with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi over the tension between Baghdad and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office, Tillerson said that the US supported Iraq’s unity and called for the importance of adherence to the constitution. For his part, Abadi said what Baghdad did in Kirkuk was redeployment and imposition of state power, which are legal and constitutiol procedures.

Abadi told Tillerson the paramilitary Hashd Shaabi unit “is an official institution which is part of the Iraq institutions. We have to encourage the (Hashd Shaabi) fighters because they will be the hope for the country and the region.” (IANS)