Iraqi PM: Talks on flight ban on Kurdistan’s airports in ‘final stages’

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Baghdad is finalizing the process of sending public salaries for Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) civil servants, and talks on lifting the international flight embargo on the Kurdistan Region’s airports is in its final stages, the top Iraqi official revealed on Monday.

For months, Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi has been trumpeting promises that the Federal Government of Iraq would send the salaries of KRG employees. Baghdad, however, has yet to send any money, prompting Kurdish officials and people in the Kurdistan Region to describe his statements as ‘propaganda.’

“We are very close to providing salaries to employees (and there must be) proper supervision so that we can ensure that salaries go to the employees and not go to the parties, and this is a serious and important issue,” Abadi said in an interview with German DW television.

Asked about the international flight ban on the Kurdistan Region’s airports, Abadi said the embargo would be lifted once federal authority is established on the airports.

The ban has been in effect since Sep. 29, and has had a negative impact on the autonomous Kurdistan Region’s economy and humanitarian aid in the area.

The Iraqi Premier added that international flights would ‘soon’ resume, stating “we are in the final stages of negotiations with the Kurds in this regard.”

He pointed out that for the first time in Iraqi history, the federal government had sent technical teams to review and audit the names of employees in ministries in the Kurdistan Region.

“The task is not easy. There is an accumulation of many years-worth of work,” Abadi said, noting that the Kurdistan Region has been “almost separate” from Iraq since the early 1990s.

The Kurdish region has been enduring a critical financial crisis since the beginning of 2014 as Baghdad cut the share of the federal budget destined for the Kurdistan Region. As a result, the KRG began exporting oil abroad.

Ties between Erbil and Baghdad have considerably deteriorated following the Sep.25 referendum on independence which saw an overwhelming majority favoring statehood last year.

Baghdad strongly opposed the referendum and in response, imposed sanctions on the region and took over disputed territories, including the oil-rich Kirkuk province.

KRG officials have also accused Baghdad of wanting to isolate the Kurdistan Region from its international allies, attempting to prevent foreign delegates from visiting Erbil over the past few months. The blockade was recently interrupted by European ministers visiting the autonomous region.

Editing by Nadia Riva