Russia back Iraq's unity in Kurd dispute
None
Russian President Vladimir Putin say Moscow backs Iraq's unity in a dispute around the region of Kurdistan.
Asked about the Kurdish referendum, Putin said at this annual news conference on Thursday that "everything should be done without any abrupt moves and within the framework of the law, with the respect of territorial integrity of Iraq."
Self-ruled Kurdish regional government last month accepted a federal court ruling that Iraq must remain unified. Kurdish lawmakers later returned to Baghdad after boycotting the national parliament in an apparent concession after a military and political standoff that followed the divisive Kurdish independence vote in September.
Russia's biggest oil company, state-owned Rosneft, earlier this year signed a deal with Kurdish authorities, bypassing the Iraqi government.
Putin said that Rosneft's work in Kurdistan is important and will benefit "Iraq, Kurdistan and the Russian economy."
