President of Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG) Masoud Barzani has said next month's referendum on the secession of the Kurdish region would go ahead as planned.
In an interview with Saudi daily Okaz on Sunday, Barzani said a postponement of the vote was "unlikely". He denied accepting a request by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to delay the vote.
"I did not give approval to the postponement of the referendum," Barzani said. "I only gave him the approval to engage in dialogue with Baghdad for negotiating a formula that guarantees a better future for both parties."
Asked about his intention to run for the presidency, Barzani said he would "neither run for the presidency nor nominate any of my relatives for [the post]".
The Kurdish leader said that elections in the Kurdish region would be held in November as scheduled. "If the parties come out tomorrow with a consensus candidate in the polls, I will welcome that," he added.
