Iraq President urges government to lift sanctions on Kurdistan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi President on Thursday called Erbil and Baghdad to engage in dialogue to resolve the problems based on the Constitution, urging the Iraqi government to lift sanctions on the Kurdistan Region.

Iraq’s Kurdish President Fuad Masum in a statement welcomed the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) decision to accept the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court's recent interpretation of Article 1 of the constitution and called for a comprehensive dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad.

Masum emphasized it is important that the people of the Kurdistan Region can return to normal life, calling on Iraqi government to lift sanctions on the international flights to Erbil and Sulaimani airports.

Masum also called on the political parties in Kirkuk to reconvene the governorate’s provincial council sessions, elect a new governor and end all tensions.

He praised the Iraqi government’s readiness to pay the salaries of the public employees in the Kurdistan Region and lift the imposed restrictions on the private banks operating in the Region, stating that “people’s interests, daily life, and future should not be harmed.”

World countries, including the US, France, UK, and Germany have all welcomed the KRG’s decision and called for dialogue within the framework of the Iraqi Constitution.

Editing by Sam A.