Shafaq News – Erbil

On Wednesday, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced that it had moved forward in talks with Baghdad on a draft agreement tying resumed oil exports to the disbursement of public sector salaries.

In a statement, the cabinet said the framework, endorsed by both sides, would see all export-bound crude handed to Iraq’s State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), while domestic supplies stay under Regional authority. The deal still awaits a final signature.

The government urged Baghdad to release overdue wages for July and August without delay, warning that the hold-up was burdening public employees. It welcomed progress on oil negotiations but underlined that salary payments could not be postponed further.

Meanwhile, Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told ministers that Erbil had fulfilled its constitutional duties, stressing that transfers were a “legal right” owed to the Region’s workers.

Public sector salaries in the Kurdistan Region are often delayed, with payments sometimes issued months late. The holdups usually occur when the KRG allegedly withholds oil exports from SOMO, prompting Baghdad to suspend budget transfers.

Read more: Kurdistan’s salaries: A lingering injustice beyond numbers.