KDP Lawmaker: Barzani’s Baghdad Visit Changed Baghdad’s View Of Erbil
The KDP bloc spokesman in the Iraqi parliament says every meeting produced positive results, as the two prime ministers agree to settle disputes under the constitution and the budget share remains open
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Daner Abdulghafar, spokesman for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) bloc in the Iraqi parliament, said on Monday that Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s visit to Baghdad had positive, good results and that the two sides reached a good understanding in the meetings. He said the visit took place at an important and sensitive time and changed Baghdad’s negative perspective and intention toward the Kurdistan Region, so that every meeting produced positive outcomes in the interest of the people and the government of the Region.
Barzani arrived in Baghdad on Monday on an official visit with a senior delegation and met Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on the Region’s share of the 2027 federal budget and other major issues. Al-Zaidi’s office said the two prime ministers agreed to work out ways to settle disputes between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) under the constitution and the laws in force. They discussed the Region’s budget share, the management of oil fields, oil and non-oil revenue, salaries and the oil and gas law, which they said should be passed quickly, the office said. In its own statement, the KRG said Barzani stressed that the share must be set fairly, on the basis of the constitution and with respect for the federal system and the Region’s constitutional status, and Kurdistan 24 reported that they also agreed on the need to prevent further attacks on the Region’s economic assets and energy infrastructure. US envoy Tom Barrack praised the talks, saying direct Baghdad-Erbil talks are how the hard issues get solved.
The visit follows a high-level KRG delegation’s meeting with a federal delegation in Baghdad on Sunday on the four issues of the budget share, customs, oil and non-oil revenue. No agreement has been reached on the share: Baghdad has proposed 12.67 percent with a condition that the Region export 450,000 barrels of oil a day, while the KRG asks for 14.14 percent and says it cannot meet the export volume. The Iraqi cabinet is due to take up the draft 2027 budget on Tuesday after postponing a session planned for Saturday. Abdulghafar called Monday’s visit the second this year by Barzani to Baghdad, the earlier one being in May.