THERESA May has invited Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to London for talks – but told him the UK still sees Kurdistan as part of Iraq.
In a phone call earlier today, the leaders discussed the Kurdish referendum, which resulted in overwhelming support for the establishment of the first ever Kurdish nation state.
As many as 92 per cent of voters supported independence, but the Iraqi Supreme Court in Baghdad ruled the ballot unconstitutional.
It also decided to annul all "consequences and results" of the referendum, with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi backing this ruling.
His government had urged Kurdish leaders not to hold the landmark vote and al-Abadi said his administration "refused to have anything to do with" it.
Appearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee last week, Karwan Jamal Tahir, high representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq to the United Kingdom, accused Westminster of having "let down" his people by lobbying against the referendum before it was held, and refusing to recognise the result.
He also revealed that he had unsuccessfully approached May about inviting both Barzani and al-Abadi to London for talks in a "conducive environment".
Yesterday a Downing Street spokesperson said May had now offered to host Barzani in London.
However, the Prime Minister's office said that her view on Kurdistan's future as a region of Iraq had not changed.
A spokesperson said: "Prime Minister May reiterated the UK’s continued respect for the territorial integrity and unity of Iraq.
"She welcomed Prime Minister Barzani’s government’s recognition of the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court’s ruling that Iraq is unified and indivisible. She said the UK would continue to fight to protect the identity and rights of the Kurdish people under the Iraqi constitution."
The statement continued: "Prime Minister May underlined the UK’s continued support for the Kurdistan Region and Kurdish people within a unified Iraq, while urging continued reform in the political, economic and security sectors to strengthen Kurdistan’s institutions and deliver for the Kurdish people."
Following the referendum result, Baghdad closed regional airports, including that of capital city Erbil.
Aid agencies argue that this makes it harder to get supplies to people displaced as a result of the fight to drive out Daesh.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been instrumental in this offensive, with al-Abadi declaring Iraq's victory over the extremist network days ago. However, his statement neglected to mention the peshmerga amongst government troops, police and other forces credited with the success. This was later said to be due to a printing error.
On the telephone talks, Downing Street said May and Barzani had "agreed on the importance of dialogue and negotiating an agreement over federal control, joint management of the borders and a resumption of international flights to Kurdistan’s airports in Erbil and Suleimaniya", adding: "They both said that they hoped to see progress on this soon."
The statement went on: "On counter-terrorism, they agreed on the importance of our continued cooperation in order to keep the people of both Kurdistan and the UK safe.
"The Prime Minister said that she would be pleased to see Prime Minister Barzani in London in due course to make further progress on these matters."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here