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The Kurdish delegation's visit to the Iraqi capital Aug. 14 failed to change the declared stances on the Kurdistan region independence referendum scheduled for Sept. 25, but did set the stage for future dialogue to discuss the relationship between Baghdad and Erbil.
The president of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, reiterated Aug. 22 that the referendum is irreversible. This was while the US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, in his meeting with the Iraqi prime minister the same day, expressed his country's support for the unity of Iraq and rejection of any action to divide Iraq. Mattis is supposed to discuss the matter with Kurdish officials in Erbil on Aug. 23.
