WASHINGTON — The United States said today that it welcomed the offer by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to suspend the results of its independence referendum and open a dialogue with Baghdad as a way to ease an escalating crisis between two critical US allies in the fight against the Islamic State. 

The KRG cease-fire offer came a day after Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, on an unannounced trip to Iraq, expressed sadness at the outbreak of violence and political turmoil between Baghdad and Erbil, and urged dialogue.

“We are concerned and a bit saddened by the recent differences that have emerged between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi central government,” Tillerson said at a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad Oct. 23.

“We have friends both in Baghdad, and we have friends in Erbil, and we encourage both parties to enter into discussion and dialogue,” Tillerson urged. “I think if both parties commit themselves to a unified Iraq, to … the Iraqi constitution, I think all differences can be addressed and the rights of all can be respected and Iraq will have a very secure and a prosperous future.”