KRG says implemented ‘all obligations’ in budget deal with Baghdad
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s Council of Ministers said on Wednesday that it has “fully implemented all obligations” in the recent budget agreement with Baghdad and called on the Iraqi government to abide by the deal.
“The Council of Ministers reaffirmed that the Kurdistan Region has fully implemented all its obligations” regarding sending its non-oil revenues, salary lists, and joint cooperation on the Region’s oil exports through Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said in a statement.
It called on Baghdad to “also fulfill its obligations according to the agreement by immediately sending the salaries and financial entitlements of the people of Kurdistan,” lamenting that the Region’s civil servants have been deprived of their salaries for three months, “which is their constitutional and legal right that should not be violated under any pretext.”
“The federal government must send the salaries and financial entitlements of the people of Kurdistan as soon as possible,” the KRG asserted.
The Iraqi government on Tuesday decided to resume the payment of the salaries of public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region after nearly three months of suspension due to financial disputes with Erbil.
Tensions between Baghdad and Erbil escalated in late May when the federal finance ministry suspended transfers, accusing the KRG of exceeding its 12.67 percent share of the federal budget and failing to deliver the agreed oil volumes to SOMO. The freeze affected more than 1.2 million public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region.
Last week, the federal and regional governments reached a new deal over financial and oil disputes following the failure of several similar deals in the past. The Iraqi government approved the agreement during a cabinet meeting and decided to resume the disbursement of the salaries of KRG’s civil servants on Tuesday. The payment will only cover the month of May, and the disbursement of salaries for the remaining months will depend on how the agreement is implemented moving forward.
In the statement, the KRG thanked the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants for their “resilience” in the face of unpaid salaries.
“The Council of Ministers, with great respect and appreciation, highly values the responsible stance and resilience of the Kurdistan Region’s people who have the necessary understanding of this difficulty imposed on the Kurdistan Region and have defended, with a high responsibility, the constitutional entity of the Kurdistan Region,” it said.
The Erbil-Baghdad agreement also includes the resumption of KRG’s oil exports. The process has been halted since March 2023 when a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying the latter had violated the 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to begin exporting oil independently in 2014.
Under the agreement, the KRG must export its entire oil output through SOMO, keeping 50,000 barrels daily for local use. In return, Baghdad is expected to make budget transfers and provide refined fuel if needed. The KRG is also obligated to hand over 120 billion Iraqi dinars (nearly $92 million) in non-oil revenues monthly for May.
However, the KRG, the Iraqi government, and international oil companies operating in the Kurdistan Region have yet to reach a final agreement on the future of Kurdish oil exports.
Fuad Hussein, Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, told Rudaw on Tuesday that Baghdad will continue paying the KRG civil servants for the months of June and July as well.
[Source: Rudaw English]
