Tillerson: US does not recognize Kurdish independence vote in Iraq

Rex Tillerson delivers remarks on August 1, 2017, at the briefing room of the US State Department in Washington, DC. (AFP)

The United States does not recognize the independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan and urges an end to "threats of reciprocal actions," US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement on Friday.

"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.

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