Erbil, Baghdad to continue energy talks until mutually agreeable resolution reached: KRG
The management of oil and gas is one of the many issues that has shaped the rocky relations between Erbil and Baghdad for many years.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Natural Resources is set to continue talks with its Iraqi counterpart on energy disputes until a mutually agreeable resolution is found, according to a statement.
The remarks came during a KRG weekly ministerial meeting chaired by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil, where the Kurdish officials discussed the outstanding issues with the federal government on hydrocarbon management.
Barzani briefed the ministers on his July 23 visit to Baghdad, where he had stressed Erbil’s willingness to resolve the lingering issues “in a just manner” and based on the Iraqi 2005 Constitution, a press release from the government read.
Both governments agreed to continue the talks until a mutually agreeable resolution is found that would be in the interest of all the Iraqi people, the release added.
The officials were also briefed on the “unjust demands” that Baghdad has made to Kurdistan Region and the international energy companies that are working in Iraq’s semi-autonomous region, it added.
The management of oil and gas is one of the many issues that has shaped the rocky relations between Erbil and Baghdad for many years.
Baghdad has recently warned a number of international companies working in the Kurdistan Region to cease their operations otherwise, they would face legal consequences.
Insisting on its commitments to those companies, the KRG has said its energy dossier is in line with the existing legal frameworks, particularly the constitution.
Barzani has expressed Erbil's willingness to resolve the outstanding issues through dialogue.