Abul Gheit heads to Iraq over Erbil referendum

CAIRO - 9 Sep 2017: Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Abul Gheit left for Iraq on Saturday on a visit meant to support efforts to revive dialogue between Baghdad and Erbil, the capital city of the Kurdistan region in Iraq.

The visit comes after a Kurdish plan to hold a referendum on independence on September 25.

Abul Gheit is scheduled to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Abadi in Baghdad to discuss tension with the Kurdistan region after the referendum was announced, said spokesman for the AL chief Mahmoud Afifi.

Abul Gheit believes national unity is very important in the post-Daesh phase, as well as the concept of citizenship that includes the different sects of Iraqis, regardless of their political, religious and ethnic backgrounds, Afifi noted.

He made it clear that the AL chief will also meet with President of the Kurdistan region Masoud Barzani in a bid to broker a compromise between Erbil and Baghdad.

Abul Gheit will post Barzani on his vision to revive a constructive political dialogue between the two sides, Afifi said.

Abul Gheit believes the referendum will only make the situation more complicated, Afifi noted.

He added that the AL chief is seeking to keep dialogue channels open between Baghdad and Erbil to reach a solution to the current problem.