Austrian FM calls Erbil, Baghdad to cooperate, resolve oil disputes

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl on Monday called on both the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government of Iraq to cooperate and resolve its oil disputes.

Kneissl’s remarks came before the meeting of the Council of the European Union in Luxemburg.

“I believe the KRG and the Iraqi government will work to serve the people of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq,” Kneissl said during a press conference, responding to a question raised by Kurdistan 24 correspondent Barzan Hassan.

She mentioned that oil is one of the main disputes between Erbil and Baghdad.

“I remember four years ago at the beginning of Da’esh [Islamic State] emergence, both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region had an [oil] agreement, and they have to re-activate the deal to make sure all the people of Iraq benefit from oil,” she added.

There are many deep-rooted issues between Erbil and Baghdad, including violations of the Iraqi Constitution, disputed territories, the Kurdistan Region and Peshmerga budget, and oil exports.

At the end of 2014, both the Kurdish and the Iraqi government reached an agreement that the KRG would export 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) through the federal government of Iraq, and Baghdad would use the Kurdistan Region’s oil pipeline to transport 300,000 bpd from Kirkuk oil fields to Turkey.

Neither side implemented the deal with each accusing the other of not enforcing the agreement.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany