Iraqi: PM Urged The KRG To Abandon Moves Toward Independence.
The Iraqi government has threatened to impose an international air embargo on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) if it does not hand over control of its airports, as Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani says his people voted in favour of independence.
On Tuesday, Barzani announced that the majority of Kurdish voters supported independence in Monday's referendum.
The results came shortly after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that the KRG has until 3:00pm local time (12:00 GMT) on Friday to transfer control of the airports to the Iraqi government.
The embargo threat is the latest in a string of retaliatory measures against the KRG's push for independence.
Domestic flights are not involved in the ultimatum and in the worst case, international travel to and from the KRG will be re-routed through Baghdad and other Iraqi airports.
Humanitarian and "emergency" flights are exempted, provided they are pre-approved by Baghdad, Abadi said.
In response, Barzani urged the world to "respect the will of millions of people" who voted in Monday's referendum. He called on Baghdad to engage in a "serious dialogue" with the KRG.
on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to impose sanctions against the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, saying it "will be left in a lurch" and its people would go hungry.
Baghdad, last week asked foreign countries to stop direct flights to the international airports of Erbil and Sulaymaniya, in KRG territory, but only Iran declared such an air embargo, halting direct flights to and from Iraqi Kurdistan.
On Tuesday, Barzani announced that the majority of Kurdish voters supported independence in Monday's referendum.
The results came shortly after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that the KRG has until 3:00pm local time (12:00 GMT) on Friday to transfer control of the airports to the Iraqi government.
The embargo threat is the latest in a string of retaliatory measures against the KRG's push for independence.
Domestic flights are not involved in the ultimatum and in the worst case, international travel to and from the KRG will be re-routed through Baghdad and other Iraqi airports.
Humanitarian and "emergency" flights are exempted, provided they are pre-approved by Baghdad, Abadi said.
In response, Barzani urged the world to "respect the will of millions of people" who voted in Monday's referendum. He called on Baghdad to engage in a "serious dialogue" with the KRG.
on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to impose sanctions against the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, saying it "will be left in a lurch" and its people would go hungry.
Baghdad, last week asked foreign countries to stop direct flights to the international airports of Erbil and Sulaymaniya, in KRG territory, but only Iran declared such an air embargo, halting direct flights to and from Iraqi Kurdistan.
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