By Ovunc Kutlu, Michael Hernandez
ERBIL, Iraq
Iraq’s federal government and the semiautonomous Kurdish Regional Government agreed Thursday to resolve all of their outstanding issues, including the crucial issue of oil exports.
According to a statement published on the Kurdish Regional Government’s Arabic website, Iraq’s Federal Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi met with Prime Minister of the Kurdish Regional Government Nechirvan Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani in Erbil.
Three major breakthroughs were made in hopes that they would lead to a resolution.
The Iraqi federal government has agreed to transfer $500 million to the cash-strapped Kurdish Regional Government. The regional government reportedly lacked the funds to pay the salaries of its own employees, many of whom hadn't been paid in months.
In return, the Kurdish Regional Government agreed to have at the disposal of Iraq’s federal government, 150,000 barrels of crude oil daily.
Barzani and his delegation will soon visit Baghdad to develop a comprehensive constitutional plan to resolve all outstanding issues with the federal government.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki welcomed the announcement, and said that the U.S. will continue to serve as a broker between the regional and central governments.
“We are encouraged by this development and the willingness of officials in Baghdad and Erbil to address these complex issues directly and earnestly,” she told reporters. “We understand that this is the first of many steps that will be required to reach a comprehensive agreement. And the United States will continue to serve as a neutral broker and facilitator to the extent desired by the leadership of both Iraq and the KRG.”
Relations between Erbil and Baghdad have been strained since the Kurdish Regional Government began independently exporting oil in January to world markets via pipelines through Turkey.
Nouri al-Maliki, the former Iraqi prime minister, had retaliated to the unilateral move by cutting the Kurdish government's share in Iraq’s federal budget.
The federal government had said the regional government exported Iraqi oil illegally without Baghdad’s authorization, while Erbil argued the sales were in compliance with the new Iraqi constitution.
The Kurdish Regional Government announced in October that its oil exports would increase from 250,000 barrels per day to 450,000 barrels per day by the end of 2014.
www.aa.com.tr/en
