The president of Iraqi Kurdistan said it will draw orders of a future Kurdish state if Baghdad refused to accept an independence referendum taking place later this month.
Speaking to the BBC Kurdish president Massoud Barzani, said he wanted to reach an agreement with the central government if the Kurdish people opted to secede.
“This is the first step. This is the first time in history the people in Kurdistan will freely decide their future. After that we will start talks with Bagdad, to reach an agreement over borders, water and oil,” he said.
The Kurdish community in Iraq makes up 15 to 20% of the population.
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