Baghdad-KRG strike deal on salaries and oil
Shafaq News – Baghdad/Erbil
Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) finalized a financial agreement on Wednesday, ending a months-long impasse over several critical issues.
A well-informed source told Shafaq News that under the deal, the federal government will transfer 240B IQD (~ $183M)—120 billion each for May and June—to cover delayed salaries. In exchange, the KRG will supply 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day and transfer non-oil revenues from border crossings.
Technical teams from both sides will begin auditing export volumes and revenue figures, paving the way for broader negotiations on Kurdistan’s full budget entitlement, the source added.
A federal source separately confirmed that Baghdad is awaiting formal documentation from Erbil to activate the agreement through joint committees.
Earlier today, the Kurdish Council of Ministers, in a session led by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, approved the agreement’s terms and condemned recent sabotage of the Region’s energy infrastructure—particularly oil fields—urging Baghdad to investigate and prevent further attacks.
مجلس الوزراء يوافق على التفاهم جديد بين حكومة إقليم كوردستان والحكومة الاتحادية بشأن الرواتب والمستحقات الماليةhttps://t.co/4TY8wA3OkR
— Kurdistan Regional Government (@Kurdistan) July 16, 2025
The deal comes amid growing unrest in the Kurdistan Region, where nearly 1.5 million public employees have gone unpaid since May. Baghdad had suspended transfers, accusing Erbil of “failing” to meet conditions in the 2023–2025 Budget Law.
