A new non-Arab actor may soon appear on the Middle East volatile map. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq's autonomous oil-rich Kurdish region (KR) has announced that the northern territory will hold an independence referendum on September 25. The decision follows a meeting of the major Kurdish political parties in Erbil, the region's capital. On June 7, Masoud Barzani, the president of the Iraqi KRG, announced the date. The question put to voters would be «do you want an independent Kurdistan?» The vote will be followed by another - for a new parliament and president - on Nov. 6.
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