Kurdistan Region never compromises on its constitutional rights: PM Barzani
The Kurdistan Region “never” compromises on its constitutional rights, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Tuesday during a virtual meeting with his cabinet’s delegation that recently returned from a round of talks with Iraq’s central government.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region “never” compromises on its constitutional rights, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Tuesday during a virtual meeting with his cabinet’s delegation that recently returned from a round of talks with Iraq’s central government on the pending issues between the two governments.
On June 23, a high-level delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) headed by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani arrived in Baghdad to start a new round of talks in an effort to solve the outstanding problems between Erbil and Baghdad.
The KRG Prime Minister “reiterated” that the Kurdistan Region would “continue” on the dialogue between the federal and regional government to reach an agreement in which the region’s “constitutional rights and entitlements are guaranteed,” according to a statement from the PM’s office.
In the meeting, Talabani, who headed the delegation to Baghdad, discussed the “results” of the talks with the federal government, the statement said. He also highlighted “suggestions” for the pending issues between the regional and federal government, it added.
Prime Minister Barzani stressed that the Kurdistan Region would defend, and never “compromise” on its legitimate rights within Iraq’s constitution, the statement said.
Oil and budget have been the major source of dispute 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.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
