The Kurdish delegation's visit to the Iraqi capital Aug. 14 failed to change the declared stances on the Kurdistan region independence referendum scheduled for Sept. 25, but did set the stage for future dialogue to discuss the relationship between Baghdad and Erbil.

The president of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, reiterated Aug. 22 that the referendum is irreversible. This was while the US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, in his meeting with the Iraqi prime minister the same day, expressed his country's support for the unity of Iraq and rejection of any action to divide Iraq. Mattis is supposed to discuss the matter with Kurdish officials in Erbil on Aug. 23.

The Kurdish delegation, headed by the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Rose Nuri Shaways, met in Baghdad with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, parliamentary speaker Salim al-Jabouri and Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, in addition to political leaders of the movement of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, and discussed with them the referendum, among other pending issues. Chief among these was the disputed areas and the division of oil wealth.

Kurdish government adviser Kifah Mahmoud said, “Erbil will by no means change its mind about the referendum for various reasons, as explained by the Kurdish delegation to the Iraqi parties in the capital.”