BAGHDAD, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) urged Tuesday the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan to respect the ruling of the Iraqi federal court that confirmed the unity of Iraq.
A statement by UNAMI quoted a statement released on Nov. 6 by the federal court's spokesperson after the court's session, clarifying the articles of the Iraqi constitution that "have underlined the unity of Iraq" and that "no text in the constitution allows the secession of any of its (Iraq's) components."
"UNAMI urges the government of the Kurdistan region of Iraq to acknowledge, endorse and respect this ruling of the federal court and reiterate its full commitment to the constitution," the UN statement said.
UNAMI statement also said that the Iraqi central government "has confirmed its full commitment to the constitution and the decisions of the federal court, including its full commitment to preserving the unity of Iraq."
Finally, the statement reiterated the urgent need for political negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil, and reconfirmed its readiness to play a facilitating role in this dialogue and these negotiations, if requested by both sides.
The statement follows talks on Tuesday between the Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, Nechirvan Barzani, and the UN envoy to Iraq and UNAMI chief Jan Kubis, during which they discussed Baghdad-Erbil relations and the need for dialogue to resolve all the differences on the basis of the Iraqi constitution.
On Monday, the Iraqi Supreme Federal Court issued a verdict saying that no region or province can secede, as there is no text in the constitution allows the secession of any of Iraq's components.
The verdict came as a response to a request by the Baghdad government to end the "misinterpretation" of the articles of the Iraqi constitution.
Tensions have been running high between Baghdad and the region of Kurdistan after the Kurds held a controversial referendum on the independence of the Kurdistan region and the disputed areas on Sept. 25.
The independence of Kurdistan is opposed not only by the Iraqi central government, but also by other countries as it would threaten the integrity of Iraq and undermine the fight against IS militants.
Iraq's neighboring countries, especially Turkey, Iran and Syria, fear that the Iraqi Kurds' pursuit of independence threatens their territorial integrity, as large Kurdish populations live in those countries.
