KRG Urges Baghdad to Release Public Employee Salaries as Oil Export Obligations Fulfilled
The Council emphasized that the Kurdistan Region has demonstrated “maximum flexibility” in reaching common ground and facilitating the restart of oil flows—steps taken in good faith to ensure stability and financial security for the Kurdish people.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers to review the outcome of recent negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad, including talks involving international oil companies.
According to a government statement, the meeting reaffirmed the KRG's full commitment to its obligations under the oil export framework. This includes readiness to resume crude exports through Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) and transfer the revenues to the Federal Ministry of Finance in Baghdad.
The Council emphasized that the Kurdistan Region has demonstrated “maximum flexibility” in reaching common ground and facilitating the restart of oil flows—steps taken in good faith to ensure stability and financial security for the Kurdish people.
Both the KRG and oil companies expressed their willingness to cooperate with the federal government to ensure oil exports resume smoothly and to remove any justification for continued delays in the disbursement of civil servant salaries in the Kurdistan Region.
“All parties are now awaiting the federal government’s approval of the agreements made in the presence of the oil companies,” the statement read, urging Baghdad to take immediate action.
The KRG Council stressed that with all technical and legal issues resolved—including salary rosters, job numbers, monthly reviews, and joint audits—there remains no reason for the Federal Ministry of Finance to withhold financial entitlements from public employees.
“Public employees in the Kurdistan Region must not be deprived of their rights under any circumstances,” the statement underscored.
The KRG called on Baghdad to uphold its constitutional responsibilities and end the withholding of salaries—a practice it said is unjust and politically motivated. The Council concluded by reaffirming its continued commitment to dialogue and cooperation to safeguard the livelihoods of the Kurdish people.
