BAGHDAD, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with a delegation of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan over the controversial independence referendum, Abadi's office said Tuesday.
The meeting "witnessed a frank and deep dialogue on the need to activate the appropriate mechanisms to solve outstanding problems in a positive atmosphere," a statement by Abadi's office said.
The statement did not give further details about the discussions but said the two sides "agreed to continue the constructive and serious dialogue to achieve the common interests of the Iraqi people and remove the accumulated historical concerns in a way that preserves Iraq's unity."
The Kurdish delegation, which arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Monday afternoon, consists of politicians representing the two main ruling parties of Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), in addition to members of Kurdish minority parties.
The delegation will also meet with other Iraqi political leaders in Baghdad before travelling to the holy Shiite city of Najaf, some 160 km south of Baghdad, to hold talks with some influential Shiite religious leaders there.
On June 7, Iraq's Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani announced his intention to hold a referendum on the independence of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan on Sept. 25, a step which has been criticized by Baghdad as well as neighboring Turkey and Iran, which have sizeable Kurdish minorities of their own.
The referendum is viewed by some regional and international officials as a threat to both Iraqi and regional security, putting Barzani under heavy pressure from the U.S. to postpone it.
On Aug. 11, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made a telephone call with Barzani and demanded "the referendum be postponed and that the issues between the Kurdistan region and the federal government in Baghdad be addressed through dialogue," according to a statement by Barzani's office.
