Iraqi President Fuad Masum gave a televised speech on Tuesday on the latest developments on the ground in Kirkuk where he said that any Peshmerga supervision of the province “did not violate the constitution”.

The Iraq-Kurdish president called on everyone involved to respect the law and to show restraint in Kirkuk as parties from both Erbil and Baghdad vie for control of the strategic province.

“I call on all parties to engage in urgent dialogue to prevent a worsening of the crisis in Iraq and remind everyone that they should resort to the constitution to solve the crisis in Kirkuk,” Masum said.