PM Barzani urges President Biden and Gulf leaders to personally support upholding Iraqi Constitution as main ‘arbiter of disputes’

Barzani warmly welcomed the US president’s visit to the Middle East.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani during the meeting, June 20, 2022. (Photo: KRG)
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani during the meeting, June 20, 2022. (Photo: KRG)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani urged US President Joe Biden and the Gulf leaders to lend their “personal support” to the principle of the Iraqi Constitution serving as an “arbiter of disputes” on Friday.

“Now more than ever it is essential for the stability and security of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region that the Constitution is the arbiter of disputes between Baghdad and the regions,” Barzani said in a statement. “And I urge our Gulf partners and President Biden to give this principle their personal support, and to convey this support in clear terms during the GCC summit.” 

President Biden began his Middle East visit on Wednesday, his first since becoming president. His first stop was Israel and the Palestinian territories. On Friday, he will fly to Saudi Arabia and meet with the leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, as well as Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan, to discuss various issues of mutual interest. 

Barzani warmly welcomed the US president’s visit to the Middle East.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is attending the GCC+3 summit hosted in the western Saudi port city of Jeddah. 

“I hope that the constitutional rights of Kurdistan in a federal Iraq, including our right to benefit from our own energy resources, a sector in which the US has invested so much, are recognized and protected,” Barzani said, adding they should not be undermined by political rivalries. 

The prime minister recalled President Biden’s support to Iraq and Kurdistan Region following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003. 

While acknowledging that issues could arise between federal and regional governments, Barzani stressed that those issues cannot be solved through politicizing the country’s institutions. 

“Kurdistan is playing its role in building stability, security and prosperity in Iraq and the region,” he said, adding the progress that the autonomous region has made is now “under threat”.

Erbil-Baghdad relations are shaped by various unresolved issues, including the former’s share of the federal budget, the disputed territories, the management of hydrocarbons, and the compensation of Kurdish victims of past atrocities. 

Kurdistan Region officials regularly call on the federal authorities to resolve the issues based on the Iraqi Constitution rather than using the Federal Supreme Court to settle disputes unilaterally.