ANKARA (Sputnik) — The Turkish Foreign Ministry called on the authorities of Iraqi Kurdistan to cancel the planned independence referendum, warning that the region would otherwise "pay a price," according to a statement seen by Sputnik on Thursday. Image copyright AFP Image caption The vote has left Iraq's neighbours nervous

The Iraqi Kurdish parliament has voted to back an independence referendum in the face of opposition from across the globe. Iraqi Kurdistan parliament on Friday passed a law assigning the Kurdistan election body to hold an independence referendum on September 25 in the Kurdistan Region and disputed areas, the Rudaw news agency reported.The Kurdish parliament holds today an "extraordinary" session, the first in two years.The legislative body has not convened since October 2015 because of political rivalry between the Kurdish parties.In June, Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi Kurdistan, set September 25 as the date for an independence referendum . The announced referendum has been widely criticized by a number of countries, including Russia, Turkey, Iran and the United States The leader of Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani said Thursday that he might consider the proposal of several Western countries to postpone the planned referendum if a suitable alternative is found. Meanwhile, the de facto president of the Kurdistan region and the man behind the referendum push, Massoud Barzani, said on Sept. 13 in a speech in the city of Akre near Erbil that no alternatives have been presented for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to reconsider its decision to hold the referendum later this month.
The Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament votes to go ahead with the planned independence referendum, scheduled to take place on 25 September, 2017.