Official: Erbil, Baghdad make progress on agreements over outstanding issues

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Delegations from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government of Iraq have reached an agreement on several points, and both sides will continue meetings at the technical level, an Iraqi government official said on Monday.

A delegation from the Iraqi government, consisting of 19 officials, arrived in Erbil on Monday to discuss the international flight ban on the Kurdistan Region’s airports, disputes over the control of border crossings, oil exports, and revenue sharing.

Speaking to the media following the meeting, Ali Allaq, the Secretary-General of the Iraqi Council of Ministers, said the Iraqi government and KRG delegations “discussed the stranded issues between them.”

Karim Shingali, the KRG’s Minister of Interior, added that the meeting “was good and successful, and we have reached very good agreements on the outstanding issues.”

Minister of Communications and Transportation Mawlud Bawamurad, who also attended the meeting, told the media that the talks were on the basis of the Iraqi Constitution and both sides “demonstrated the will to resolve the disputes.”

In a joint statement, the Erbil and Baghdad delegations revealed that five separate bilateral meetings were held on the matters of border security, airports, customs and border crossings, dams, and oil.

According to the statement, both sides discussed recommendations for the matters which will be submitted to the Iraqi Council of Ministers for further discussion and final approval.

On Saturday, a Kurdish delegation, led by Shingali, visited Baghdad to initiate talks with the Iraqi government over sanctions imposed on the Kurdistan Region.

Following the historic independence referendum, Baghdad banned international flights to and from both the Erbil and Sulaimani airports and called on the KRG to hand over control of its border crossings.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany