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With Kurds set on holding a referendum that would decide whether they will stay with Iraq or separate and form their own state, some logistical questions come into play regarding the practicality of transitioning to statehood. Such questions include: how to achieve recognition, particularly from Baghdad, and why should the international community support their statehood.To achieve sovereignty, the Kurdistan Region needs to diffuse tensions as much as possible with its surrounding neighbors, especially with Baghdad as its consent would make international recognition easier.The relationship between Erbil and Baghdad has gone through many rough patches, most recently over the last two years since the federal government cut off the region’s budget at a time that its Peshmerga forces have been in a costly war with the Islamic State (ISIS) and oil—their only source of revenue—have sharply declined.Despite such political tensions between the two capital cities, there have been recent signs of thawing ties.A Kurdish delegation headed by KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani visited Baghdad earlier this month to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi regarding oil exports and the anticipated Mosul operation. Both parties agreed on exporting Kirkuk’s oil through Kurdistan’s pipeline to the Turkish Ceyhan port, along with the crude produced in the other two oil fields in the province, Havana and Bay Hasan.Baghdad’s blessing and later good ties are vital for the Kurdish independence quest and Kurdish leaders have long insisted that they will talk to Baghdad as well as their other neighbors about this plan so as to make the separation peaceful and amicable.According to Peter Galbraith, a former US ambassador and former advisor to Kurdish leaders, “The first priority after the passage of an independence referendum is to start negotiations with Baghdad. The goal is to secure Iraqi acceptance of Kurdistan independence.”Galbraith believes that there are reasons for optimism between the two capitals and emphasizes Abadi’s acknowledgment of the KRG’s right of self-determination. “In this regard, Prime Minister Abadi’s statements,” he said, “are encouraging in that he seems to recognize the right of the Kurdish nation to self-determination.”Abadi’s sentiments were also praised by Saadi Ahmed Pira, a senior leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) following a meeting between the Iraqi premier and his party delegation in Baghdad last month. “Abadi frankly has told us that he is ready to talk with the KRG,” Pira told Rudaw, “but it is important that the Kurds decide whether they want to split or stay with Iraq.”“If Baghdad does not recognize Kurdistan,” Galbraith said, “the new country will have to develop a diplomatic strategy to secure recognition.”Galbraith explains that “International law increasingly accepts that people in federal units do have a right to self-determination” and that “it will be hard for the world to ignore the overwhelming vote of the Kurdish people for independence. It may take a while but countries are realistic and accept the inevitable.”Such examples that Galbraith sites are when "Europe and the US tried to hold Yugoslavia together and refused to recognize the independence of Croatia and Slovenia when initially declared on June 25, 1991. But, independence was the clear desire of the people of Croatia and Slovenia. By April 1992, the Europeans and the US had recognized the new countries and admitted them to the UN.”While Galbraith believes that reaching an agreement with Baghdad must be the KRG’s first priority, Ofra Bengio, a professor at Tel Aviv University and author of Kurdish Awakening: Nation Building in a Fragmented Homeland believes that convincing Baghdad will be the KRG’s greatest challenge.“One of the greatest challenges for achieving statehood,” Bengio told Rudaw, “is to convince Baghdad to enact the separation by way of an agreement and in a peaceful manner. This would silence opposition within the Kurdish camp, grant legitimacy to the move and most importantly enable the international community to support Kurdish independence.”According to Bengio, separation from Iraq “will be described as an act of treason against the Iraqi and Arab nation, because Iran will pressurize Baghdad not to accept such a solution, and because Kirkuk is too "precious" to give it up to the Kurds.”Even before convincing Baghdad to come on board, Bengio believes that the KRG’s first priority must be to unite all the Kurdish parties in the Kurdistan Region.“The first priority is to overcome the deep schisms in the Kurdish political system,” according to Bengio.She cites South Sudan as an example of what could come from disunity after a declaration of independence. “The South Sudanese example has proved that when the minimal unity is lacking, the whole project might fall apart within short time even if the framework of a state does exist,” Bengio said.The technicality of holding a referendum and what it means to ordinary people is yet another issue that has to be sorted.Dr. Osman Ali Weisy, one of the KRG’s top legal consultants, told Rudaw, “What is left is how the referendum law will be interpreted and be passed. As where, when and who will be taking part in the referendum and whether or not this will be optional for people to take part in the referendum like in other countries we have seen, has yet to be agreed upon.”“We need to back the people’s view and also to the models of the world on referendum,” Weisy added.Ultimately though, Weisy echoes Galbraith’s belief that it comes down to the desire of people of whether independence is legitimate or not.“I think because the referendum is a national issue, in that case, I think legitimacy of the referendum on self determination comes from the people themselves,” Weisy said. “It’s about deciding the fate of the people.”