The president of Iraqi Kurdistan has signalled it will draw the borders of a future Kurdish state if Baghdad does not accept a vote for independence in a referendum due later this month.
Massoud Barzani told the BBC he wanted to reach an agreement with the central government if Kurds opted to secede.
Iraq's prime minister has rejected the referendum as unconstitutional.
Mr Barzani also warned the Kurds would fight any group that tried to change the "reality" in Kirkuk by force.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces have taken control of the oil-rich city, which has large Arab and Turkmen populations, and other areas claimed by Baghdad over the past three years while driving out the jihadist group Islamic State.
Shia militias have said they will not allow Kirkuk to be part of an independent Kurdistan.
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