“The ISIL will be completely defeated in Iraq this year,” Iraqi state television quoted Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as saying on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
“We have garnered victories which has never been achieved by any party since the fall of Saddam’s regime,” reiterated the Iraqi premier. He also warned not to fall into fanning the fire of racial and ethnic struggles.
“Any dialogue should be based on Iraq’s unity, Iraqi Constitution, and opposition to referendum,” the Iraqi PM set the conditions for any possible negotiation with the officials of the KRG. “No negotiation over the referendum is possible before annulling it.”
“Confederalism is possible through amending the Constitution which requires two-third of parliament’s vote,” added Mr. al-Abadi. “France has also underlined the necessity of keeping Iraq united.”
“I ask the Peshmerga forces to restrain from entering into conflicts with central government forces in disputed areas because controlling disputed areas is in jurisdiction of the central government,” said the Iraqi head of government.
He also said that the Iraqi oil does not belong to a special group or official.
ISIL’s cross-border “caliphate” effectively collapsed in July, when Iraqi forces, made up of army and popular mobilized forces trained by Iran, captured Mosul, the group’s de facto capital in Iraq, after a nine-month battle.
The group’s last territory in Iraq is now a stretch skirting the western border with Syria following the fall of the town of Hawija and surrounding areas on October 5 in an offensive by Iraqi forces.
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