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Kurdistan independence to cause further chaos in Mideast: Commentator

Monday, 18 September 2017 3:21 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 18 September 2017 3:38 PM ]

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani

A political commentator says there is a need for continued efforts to pressure the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to abide by its international obligations and not hold an independence referendum, explaining that any unilateral change in borders in the Middle East will cause further chaos in the region.

“I do know that their neighbors, allies, fellow countries in the region as well as many of their countrymen have all warned against holding this referendum … What I think all parties realize now though is that any unilateral attempt to change the political boundaries of the Middle East will be strongly opposed by just about all stakeholders in the region,” Craig Gaulzetti told PressTV’s ‘On The News line’ program.

Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region is to hold an independence referendum on September 25 - a move that the central government in Baghdad is strongly opposed to.

Regional powers like Iran and Turkey have also expressed concerns about the planned referendum, arguing that it could create further instability in the region.