Kurdish people protest outside the Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Iraq September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States does not recognize the independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan and urges an end to “threats of reciprocal actions,” U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement on Friday.

“The United States does not recognize the Kurdistan Regional Government’s unilateral referendum held on Monday. The vote and the results lack legitimacy and we continue to support a united, federal, democratic and prosperous Iraq,” Tillerson said.

“We urge calm and an end to vocal recriminations and threats of reciprocal actions,” he added.