ERBIL, Iraq, July 9 (UPI) -- The U.N. envoy to Iraq scheduled a stop in the Iraqi Kurdistan capital, Erbil, to discuss constitutional articles on the fate of Kirkuk, Kurdish officials said.

A representative for the Kurdish parliament, Tareq Jawhar, said Special Representative for the U.N. Secretary-General Staffan de Mistura planned a Thursday visit to the Kurdish capital to discuss ways to move forward on Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution, Voices of Iraq reported Wednesday.

The United Nations issued a June report on four districts in Iraq that could serve as a model for national reconciliation over Article 140, which seeks to reverse ethnic policies implemented by Saddam Hussein.

Massoud Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan, issued a statement in response saying the U.N. report was not a viable option because it was unconstitutional in its proposals.

Article 140 calls on the Arab population in the region to return to their native areas in central and southern Iraq while displaced Kurds return to Kirkuk.

It also stipulates the fate of Kirkuk should depend on a census and subsequent referendum to allow citizens to decide if the city should fall within the jurisdiction of Erbil or Baghdad.

Shiite and Sunni Muslims, along with Iraqi Turkmen, oppose the Kurdish proposal to incorporate Kirkuk into the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan.

The constitutional article was to be settled in December, though that deadline was extended to July.

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