Iraqi PM says Kurdish referendum 'a thing of the past', calls for dialogue

Iraqi Prime minister Haider Al-Abadi speaks during a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not seen) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ludovic Marin/Pool

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday the Kurdish independence referendum held last month in northern Iraq "is finished and has become a thing of the past".

Addressing a news conference in Baghdad, he called for a dialogue with the Kurdish leadership "under the Constitution".

(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Hugh Lawson)