Kurdish leaders reject Baghdad demand to cancel independence vote, renew dialogue offer

BAGHDAD – Iraq's Kurdish leadership rejected on Sunday a demand by the Iraqi government that it cancels the outcome of an independence referendum as a precondition for talks to resolve the dispute.

Kurdish leaders who met to discuss the crisis in the town of Dokan renewed their offer to "resolve peacefully" the crisis with Baghdad.

"The Kurdish parties are ready for talks between Erbil and Baghdad," they said in a statement, referring respectively to the seat of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq and the federal capital of Iraq.

"The talks between Erbil and Baghdad should be under the supervision of international parties," the statement added.