Politics

PM Masrour Barzani expresses disappointment in federal ruling in call with White House coordinator

PM Masrour Barzani expressed his disappointment with the Court’s ruling in light of the “positive atmosphere” and improving relations between Erbil and Baghdad.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2023/01/26 23:54

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani (right) on Thursday talked by phone with White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Brett McGurk (left) (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Kurdistan PM Masrour Barzani Brett McGurk Kurdistan Krg

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday talked by phone with White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Brett McGurk and discussed the recent developments in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

During the call, the MENA Coordinator reflected on his recent visit to Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region, where he met with a number of officials about the next steps to resolve Baghdad-Erbil issues on the budget and other issues, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said in a statement.

McGurk also stressed the importance of Kurdish unity and improving relations between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

PM Masrour Barzani also discussed the recent decision by the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court to deny the payment of the Kurdistan Region’s share of the budget for the last two months of 2022.

At the end of last year, Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani made the executive decision to send $260 million owed to the KRG.

PM Masrour Barzani expressed his disappointment with the Court’s ruling in light of the “positive atmosphere” and improving relations between Erbil and Baghdad and described the ruling as “politically motivated” and an overreach of the Court’s authority.

The US envoy McGurk confirmed his country’s support for Peshmerga reforms, developments in the energy sector, infrastructure improvements, and combating climate change.

Moreover, they both agreed on the need to remove all obstacles to the development of the energy sector, and greater U.S. investment in the Kurdistan region. They concluded the call by agreeing to stay in close contact.

Earlier this month, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani welcomed a senior US government delegation led by the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk and Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein.