Kurdish leaders believe it is better to remain part of Iraq rather than pursue secession, Washington's representative to Iraq, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said on Sunday days before Iraq's historic parliamentary elections, according to Reuters. Zalmay Khalilzad said the Kurds realized they would become isolated and surrounded by unfriendly neighbors if they split from the rest of Iraq. "The leadership of Kurdistan, Mr Jalal Talabani and Mr Masoud Barzani -- I have talked with them repeatedly -- have decided that it is better for the Kurds to be part of Iraq, rather than to go on their own and try for independence because they will be isolated in this area and they will have many enemies around them, which will not be good for the survival of a mini-Kurdish state," Khalilzad told CNN's "Late Edition." "More probable at the present time is for Iraq to hold together. That is what we seek," Khalilzad added.