U.S. Calls on Baghdad to Pay Kurdish Salaries: Exclusive Statement to Kurdistan 24
“We urge both Baghdad and Erbil to make their constitutionally mandated payments” and “resolve their issues through constructive dialogue,” the State Department told Kurdistan 24.
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) - The U.S. has officially called on the Iraqi government to pay Kurdish salaries “quickly.”
The U.S. statement, provided on Thursday exclusively to Kurdistan 24’s Washington D.C. bureau chief, Rahim Rashidi, follows one day after Iraq’s Finance Minister, Taif Sami, announced that Baghdad would not provide any further money for the salaries of public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region, because, Sami claimed, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has already received its share of the federal budget.
Thus, according to Sami’s statement, they will not be paid for their work during the month of May–or any further work this year.
Among the KRG’s responses was a warning to Baghdad, expressed by KRG Spokesperson Peshawa Hawrami, the next day, on Thursday.
If Baghdad did not send the salaries before the Eid al-Adha, the four day Feast of Sacrifice, which begins on June 6, Hawrami said, “The Kurdish leadership will take its own course of action.”
Read More: KRG Spokesperson Warns of High-Level Action If Baghdad Fails to Send Salaries
U.S. Statement: Need to ‘Quickly’ Resolve Payments Dispute
The U.S. has responded to these developments by calling for a calm and speedy resolution of the dispute, including the payment of KRG salaries.
“We urge both Baghdad and Erbil to make their constitutionally mandated payments and to resolve their issues through constructive dialogue,” a State Department official told Kurdistan 24 in an exclusive email.
“Resolving the payments issue quickly sends a signal that Iraq puts the interests of its people first and is creating an environment in which companies will want to invest,” she continued.
The official then added an important, related issue, but which lies outside the scope of the current dispute.
“It would also send a positive signal on possibilities for reopening the Iraq-Türkiye Pipeline,” she said.
U.S. Political Support for the Kurdistan Region
The State Department official also used the occasion to reiterate the Trump administration’s political backing for Erbil.
“U.S. support for the Iraqi Kurdistan Region remains a crucial element of our relationship with Iraq,” she told Rashidi.
“Secretary Rubio recently hosted KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and spoke with IKR President Nechirvan Barzani," the official continued, “highlighting the importance of ongoing collaboration to enhance stability and prosperity in Iraq and the region.”
Read More: 'Strong and Resilient': Rubio Reaffirms U.S. Support for Kurdistan
Read More: Kurdistan Region President, US Secretary of State Discuss US-Kurdistan Region Ties
The KRG has charged that Baghdad’s move to end salary payments is a "politically motivated financial siege.” Possibly, it is best understood as a response to the success of Prime Minister Masrour Barzan’s visit to Washington last week that is being carried out by factions within the Iraqi government which oppose the development of warm ties between Washington and Erbil.
