Iraqi PM urges 'joint administration' of Kirkuk under Baghdad's authority: state TV

Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi attends the 28th Ordinary Summit of the Arab League at the Dead Sea, Jordan March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Hamed/Files

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday called for a "joint administration" of Kirkuk and other areas claimed by both his government and the autonomous Kurdish region, provided that Baghdad has ultimate authority in such an arrangement. Abadi's proposal, made at a news conference in Baghdad according to state TV, aims mainly at settling the dispute over the multi-ethnic, oil-rich region of Kirkuk. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters took control of Kirkuk in 2014, when Iraqi forces collapsed in the face of Islamic State's advance across northern Iraq. (Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Gareth Jones)