Kurdish lawmakers in Baghdad for talks ahead of independence vote

IRBIL, Sept 23 (KUNA) -- A Kurdish delegation arrived in the Iraqi capital on Saturday to hold talks with officials over the autonomous region's referendum to secede from Baghdad due on Monday.
Iraqi Kurdistan's decision to send a delegation to Baghdad represents an effort to clarify Irbil's position on the vote for Kurdish independence.
The Kurdish lawmakers are expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi and officials from across Baghdad's political spectrum to express the Kurds' desire to go through with the vote on secession, read a statement by a supreme Kurdish council dealing with the referendum.
Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani struck a defiant tone in his speech on Friday before a throng of supporters in Irbil, saying that the referendum was inevitable and any "talks with Baghdad will only take place after September 25," the date set for the Kurdish vote.
He shrugged off international pressure to call of the referendum, asserting that Kurds "are willing to pay any price for freedom." Meanwhile, Barzani is scheduled to hold a press conference on Sunday to promulgate the final decision over the referendum, a source from within the Kurdish presidency told KUNA.
Baghdad has excoriated the referendum, with Abadi saying that," the fight against terrorism is the country's top priority." The referendum on independence is favored by the Kurds themselves, but opposed by every major power in the region. (end) sbr.nam