U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis met with Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani on Tuesday to thank him for his strong leadership of Peshmerga forces and being a supportive partner in operations to defeat ISIS, Pentagon said in a statement.

“The secretary congratulated President Barzani on the success in Mosul, and noted the liberation of that city was only possible due to the strong cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil.  To maintain this cooperation, the secretary encouraged President Barzani to engage in a sustained dialogue with Prime Minister Abadi and keep the focus on maintaining the momentum against ISIS,” Pentagon said in a statement.

During the meeting, Mattis asked Barzani to postpone referendum on Kurdish independence next month, the New York Times reported. Mattis said the main task is to focus on the defeat of ISIS, he told reporters after the meeting. 

The statement issued by Kurdish presidency, Barzani told US Secretary of Defense James Mattis the referendum would go ahead unless a stronger alternative is offered, but that Erbil will continue dialogue with Baghdad with the objective of becoming “two good neighbours,” according to a statement from the Kurdistan presidency, Rudaw agency said.