CAIRO, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- Arab League (AL) Chief Ahmad Abul Gheit expressed his sorrow on Tuesday over holding an independence referendum of Iraqi Kurdistan region, the AL said in a statement.
He also voiced deep concerns over the repercussions of running the referendum despite all the intensive Arab and international efforts to prevent it to avoid more deteriorations of the conditions in Iraq, said the statement.
The Iraqi Kurds on Monday ended their vote in a referendum that will determine the independence of the Kurdish region and the disputed areas amid threats and rejection from Baghdad and neighboring countries.
"Still, it's possible to contain the repercussions of that procedure if all the concerned parties enjoy wisdom and responsibility regarding Iraq," added the AL top diplomat.
He renewed his calls to the Iraqi people to renounce the differences and to open a comprehensive dialogue with international and Arab guarantees over all the controversial issues to avoid any possible clashes that would threat the unity, stability and security of the entire region.
The independence of Kurdistan is opposed by many countries. Neighboring countries such as Turkey, Iran and Syria see that such a step would threaten their territorial integrity, as larger populations of Kurds live in those countries.
