Iraq's Kurdish regional government welcomed the U.S. Congress non-binding decision to divide the war-torn country into three entities, while Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki rejected it saying it would be "catastrophe."



"People and government of the Kurdistan Region welcome the U.S. Senate decision calling for rebuilding Iraq on the basis of federalism," the Kurdish regional presidency, headed by Masoud Barzani, said in a statement obtained by Xinhua on Saturday.



Late on Wednesday, the U.S. Senate approved, with 75 votes for and 23 against, a non-binding draft decision proposing the division of Iraq into three of Kurdish, Shiite and Sunni entities, with a federal government in Baghdad responsible for border security and supervision on oil production.



The Kurdish leadership emphasized that dividing Iraqi into three entities "is the only viable solution to the problems of Iraq," adding that the federal system "does not mean division for the country, but rather voluntary union."



For his part, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vehemently rejected the resolution describing it as a "catastrophe" and called for the Iraqi parliament to hold a session devoted for discussing the resolution.



"The resolution is weird, because it is an Iraqi affair dealing with Iraqis. Iraqis are eager for Iraq's unity. Dividing Iraq is a problem, and a decision like that would be a catastrophe," Maliki told reporters on his way back from New York, where he appeared at the U.N. general Assembly.



Also, the Association of Muslim Scholars, a Sunni Arab body, said to be close to several insurgent groups fighting the U.S.-led occupation, condemned the decision in a statement, considering whoever backs the decision to be "traitor for his religion, his nation and his home."



Source: Xinhua