IRBIL, Iraq -- Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, says Iraqi Kurds will hold a referendum on independence on Sept. 25.

Barzani announced the vote Wednesday on Twitter.

Hamin Hawrami, a senior presidential adviser, said on his own Twitter account that the decision follows a meeting of the major Kurdish political parties in Irbil, the region's capital.

Iraq's Kurdish region, with a population of about 5 million, already enjoys a high degree of autonomy, including its own parliament and armed forces. But relations with the central government in Baghdad have nosedived in recent years over a range of issues.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in April that he respects the Kurdish right to vote on independence, but he did not think the timing was right for the move.