First KRG delegation to visit Baghdad after top court’s verdict against Kurdish payments

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said the top court has been used to “jeopardize” the Erbil-Baghdad agreements.
A KRG delegation arrived in Baghdad to discuss outstanding disputes between the KRG and the Iraqi government on Monday, June 6, 2022 (Photo: Hoshmand Sadiq/Kurdistan 24)
A KRG delegation arrived in Baghdad to discuss outstanding disputes between the KRG and the Iraqi government on Monday, June 6, 2022 (Photo: Hoshmand Sadiq/Kurdistan 24)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is set to visit the Iraqi capital on Saturday to continue the negotiations with the federal government on the outstanding issues following the country’s supreme court ruling against releasing Erbil’s financial entitlements, an official said.

The visit is part of the KRG’s series of delegations that had visited Baghdad in recent months to discuss and reach an agreement on the outstanding issues, including oil and gas as well as the Region’s share in the federal budget, Omed Sabah, the KRG Council of Minister’s chief of staff, said in a statement on Saturday.

The official did not elaborate further on the members of the government delegation.

The resumption of the discussions comes as the Federal Supreme Court in late January ruled against sending the financial entitlements of the Region by Baghdad for the last two months of 2022.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said the top court has been used to “jeopardize” the Erbil-Baghdad agreements.

The KRG has refused to abide by the ruling, asking Baghdad to respect its commitments to the Kurdish region.

Kurdish officials have been critical of the court’s decisions since last year, when the FSC ruled against the Region’s oil and gas law, saying it contradicts the Iraqi constitution.

The Region’s leaders have argued that the Federal Court has not been formed according to the constitution, therefore, its decisions should not be considered constitutional.

The lingering disputes over the KRG’s share in the federal budget, the status of disputed territories as well as the administration of the energy section have shaped the rocky relations between the governments for many years.