ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Iraqi Federal Court ruled on Monday that the Kurdish independence referendum which was held on September 25 is "unconstitutional" and therefore its results are null and void, Iraqi state TV reported.

The Iraqi prime minister’s office in an announcement welcomed the ruling saying “the Iraqi Federal Court’s ruling is supporting the Iraqi government’s steps to implement the state authorities and not deal with the referendum process.”

Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani talked to reporters shortly after the Federal Court’s ruling saying it had been made “unilaterally and without the presence of Kurdish representatives.”

Iraq's Federal Court ruled earlier on November 6 that no article in the constitution allows partition or the separation of any part of the country, with the Iraqi prime minister calling on Erbil to make its position on the ruling clear.

On November 14 Erbil stated that it respected the ruling, and called for negotiations with Baghdad on the basis of the Iraqi constitution.

Erbil has so far offered to freeze the results of the vote in exchange for open dialogue with Baghdad.