Iraq's prime minister says he won't cut Kurdistan Region salaries because of oil
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi stated that, despite ongoing disputes regarding regional oil production, Baghdad will continue to fund the salaries of public employees in the Kurdistan Region on time.
He made the comments in a group interview with members of the local and international press that was released by his media office on Friday night.
This the second time Abdul Mahdi has said he would not cut off civil servants' salaries after calls from some Iraqi political parties urging him to reconsider the Kurdistan Region's budget share and an ongoing case before the supreme court as a result of the region's failure to deliver oil to the federal government as outlined in a previous agreement.
Ties between Erbil and Baghdad drastically spiraled following the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum in September 2017 and remained fractured for months. Relations eventually began to improve, most noticeably after the formation of Abdul Mahdi's Iraqi government in late 2018.
Notable among the perennial disputes between the KRG and the Iraqi government crucial to the economies of both are the continued negotiations on oil and gas. The autonomous Kurdish government has exported its oil independently since 2013. Following the post-referendum fallout, the KRG agreed to send 250,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) to Baghdad in exchange for the payment of civil servants’ salaries and other budgetary disbursements.
The Kurdish government has yet to implement the oil article.
Abdul Mahdi told the journalists present, "According to the 2019 budget bill, we will deduct 250,000 barrels per day worth of the Kurdistan Region's overall budget if they fail to deliver the oil, but not the salaries of Kurdish employees."
"We will not cut off any Iraqi's source of income," he added.
In late July, officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) discussed the issue, among others, at a meeting in Erbil with a high-level delegation from Baghdad that included Iraqi's finance minister, oil minister, national security adviser, and Abdul Mahdi's chief of staff.
Read More: KRG, Iraq make progress toward agreement aimed at settling disputes: Source
A joint statement released afterward read, “Both sides agreed to establish a practical mechanism to investigate the details of the hanging issues by forming a number of specialized technical committees from the relevant ministries.
The tasks these committees face, solving "all" Erbil–Baghdad disputes, including territories disputed by the two, is a daunting one. After agreement on the issues that have plagued all previous administrations would be reached, said a source familiar with the recent talks who spoke to Kurdistan 24, a deal between the federal and regional governments reflecting the recent "significant progress" could be inked.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has previously stated his new administration’s aim to improve ties with Baghdad and employ dialogue to resolve longstanding disputes, saying, "The focus of my government will be how to build a stronger relationship and partnership with Baghdad."
Editing by John J. Catherine