Iraq agrees to send Kurdistan part of its budget: KRG

“We are in agreement on both parties’ constitutional rights and duties, and dialogue will continue.”

Mohammed Kerim 2020/08/15 22:13

Kurdistan Kurdistan Iraq Erbil Baghdad Relations

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, announced late Saturday that Baghdad had agreed to a "partial restoration" of the region's share of the national budget, signaling that the two sides are approaching an understanding on bilateral disputes on finances.

"I am pleased to announce that Baghdad has agreed to pay IQD 320bn monthly as a partial restoration of our share of the federal budget," the premier said. The sum amounts to nearly $270 million. The statement came after Barzani held a phone call with his Iraqi counterpart, Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

"We are in agreement on both parties' constitutional rights and duties, and dialogue will continue."

The announcement comes days after the two governments made statements that highlighted difficulties they had reached in the latest rounds of dialogue, which aim to resolve longstanding disputes. Both sides called on each other to abide by their constitutional obligations.

A high-level Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation has traveled to Baghdad four times to negotiate with the federal government on multiple lingering disputes, even amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has only worsened since May.

"While the delegation has accepted all federal conditions within the constitution, the Iraqi government has yet to send the Kurdistan Region its share of the budget for more than three months," a KRG claimed on Wednesday.

"The [KRG] Cabinet expressed serious concern over the federal government's response to efforts aimed at resolving budget disputes, and called on Baghdad to honor its constitutional obligations."

The Erbil government also reiterated "its commitment to resolve ongoing disputes within the framework of the Iraqi constitution, and tasked the delegation to continue dialogue to reach an agreement," the KRG added.

In response, the Iraqi government claimed, however, that the KRG statement "lacked precision" and that Baghdad had shown "great flexibility" for both sides to reach an agreement.

A source of contention, the Iraqi statement indicated, had been with control over national border crossings.

Oil and budget have been major sources of friction between the central government in Baghdad and the KRG since the region began to export its oil independently.

Erbil-Baghdad relations have always been fraught with disputes, nearing a total breakdown after the Kurdistan Region's 2017 independence referendum, followed by Iraqi forces and Iran-backed militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) attacking disputed areas such as Kirkuk to push Kurdish Peshmerga forces from them.