Iraq's Talabani says independent Kurdistan not likely in near future

“I don't think there is anything impossible in the world, but in the near future, I don't see any possibility for this,” Talabani said on Monday during an interview with Al-Jazeera's English-language news network on Sunday when asked whether he thinks there will ever be an independent Kurdistan.

Responding to a question on whether the Kurdish regional administration in northern Iraq would declare independence, Talabani said he does not see this as a possibility.

“We must be very frank with you -- not only is independence not possible, but also now it is in the interests of Kurdish people to remain within the framework of Iraq. You know this era, this century, is not the era of small countries -- it is of big unions. Look to Europe, they are trying to reunite-- look to other countries. So it is within the framework of a democratic federal Iraq that we are engaging in all activities, and we have all kinds of freedom and we have all possibilities … but we must be realistic,” he said.