IRBIL, Northern Iraq
The President of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq Masoud Barzani announced a new cabinet will be formed before Iraq’s local elections at the end of this month.
Barzani said the new Kurdish cabinet will be formed before elections, due to take place on April 30, reminding that his Kurdistan Democratic Party has been negotiating with other parties to form a cabinet after elections in September 2013.
Barzani also said the Iraqi central government does not believe in partnership with the government of the region.
Baghdad opposes the export of Kurdish oil stored at Turkey's southern port of Ceyhan on the country's Mediterranean coast, claiming it bypasses an agreement with Iraq's national oil company and violates Iraq’s constitution.
Iraq failed to approve its 2014 budget due to a political boycott by 57 Kurdish deputies after the Kurdish government’s 17 percent oil share was not included.
“If someone thinks he can bring us to our knees by cutting us out of the budget, then he is not thinking, we Kurds have our own program, our own plans," said Barzani.
Barzani stated that he as a Kurdish citizen also has his own complaints. “We are overcoming problems,” he said, “The formation of the cabinet is at its last step. We will announce the new government before the Iraqi local elections.”
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