Kurdistan på väg att bli självständigt

"We will not allow a second Israel be formed in Northern Iraq," Maliki was quoted as saying by Soumeriya news in a meeting with US Ambassador to Baghdad Douglas A. Silliman.

The Secretary-General believes that any unilateral decision to hold a referendum at this time would detract from the need to defeat ISIL, as well as the much-needed reconstruction of the regained territories and the facilitation of a safe, voluntary and dignified return of the more than three million refugees and internally displaced people.

The Secretary-General respects the sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Iraq and considers that all outstanding issues between the federal Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government should be resolved through structured dialogue and constructive compromise.

The Secretary-General calls upon the leaders across Iraq to approach this matter with patience and restraint. The United Nations stands ready to support such efforts.

Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General

BREAKING: Iraq's supreme court rules that Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum cannot take place

Russian oil major Rosneft (ROSN.MM) will invest in gas pipelines in Iraq’s Kurdistan, expanding its commitment to the region ahead of its independence vote to help it become a major exporter of gas to Turkey and Europe.

Kurdistan has been exporting oil independently from the central government in Baghdad since 2014 and Kremlin-controlled Rosneft joined the list of buyers this year, lending the semi-autonomous region hundreds of millions of dollars in loans guaranteed by future oil sales.

Now Rosneft is widening its investments to gas by agreeing to fund a natural gas pipeline in Kurdistan, Rosneft and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said on Monday. Two sources close to the deal said the investments would amount to more than $1 billion (735.35 million pounds).

Erbil, the seat of the KRG in northern Iraq, needs money to fund the fight against Islamic state and a budget crisis caused by low oil prices.

Kurdistan has relied on oil pre-finance deals to improve its fiscal position but has struggled to develop its large gas reserves, which can require more investment to develop on a longer-term scale.

The arrival of Rosneft will speed up gas development, which has so far largely been driven by mid-sized companies.

For Rosneft, the world’s largest publicly listed oil company by production, the deal is a major boost to its international gas ambitions. Rosneft has long sought to challenge Gazprom, Russia’s gas export monopoly, in supplying gas to Europe.

For Turkey, it means the arrival of new supplies for its energy-hungry economy and the potential to become a major center for gas supplies to Europe.

The pipeline’s capacity is expected to handle up to 30 billion cubic meters (bcf) of gas exports a year, in addition to supplying domestic users. Kurdistan sits on some of the largest untapped gas deposits on Europe’s doorstep.

The volumes that Rosneft wants to help Kurdistan supply to export markets are big - they represent 6 percent of total European gas demand and one-sixth of current gas export volumes by Russia - by far the largest supplier of gas to Europe.

The pipeline will be constructed in 2019 for Kurdish domestic use, with exports due to begin in 2020.

Rosneft has previously loaned money to Kurdistan guaranteed by future oil sales and has also agreed to help the region expand its pipeline infrastructure.

Kurdistan Region – Russian military observers will be deployed to Afrin and al-Shahba, northwestern Syria, to coordinate with Kurdish and local forces and “maintain security,” the YPG announced in a statement on Tuesday.

Following an agreement between the Kurdish YPG forces, local revolutionary forces, and Russian forces in the region, Russian military observers will go to the Kurdish canton of Afrin and the al-Shahba area – both under control of the YPG and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“The duty of the military observers is to maintain security conditions” in the area, the YPG stated.

There has been no immediate comment from the Russian Ministry of Defence.