U.S. does not recognize Kurdish independence vote in Iraq: Tillerson

[September 30, 2017]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States does not recognize the independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan and urges an end to "threats of reciprocal actions," U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement on Friday.

Kurdish people protest outside the Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

"The United States does not recognize the Kurdistan Regional Government’s unilateral referendum held on Monday. The vote and the results lack legitimacy and we continue to support a united, federal, democratic and prosperous Iraq," Tillerson said.

"We urge calm and an end to vocal recriminations and threats of reciprocal actions," he added.

(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by James Dalgleish)

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