Erbil to resume talks with Baghdad about the outstanding problems

Shafaq News/ A delegation from the Kurdistan Region is scheduled to pay a new visit to Baghdad as soon as possible to discuss a new round of talks.

The Kurdish Government decided to form a new delegation to resume negotiations with the Iraqi federal Government to resolve the outstanding issues.

The Kurdish delegation includes the Minister of Finance and Economy, the Acting Minister of Natural Resources, the Head of the Cabinet Office, the Secretary of the Council of Ministers, the Head of the Coordination and Follow-up Department, and the Government's Spokesperson.

The Government called the delegation to start discussions as soon as possible within the framework of "constitutional rights, cabinet decisions, and the political agreement that was voted on in the Iraqi parliament."

Earlier, The President of the Diwan of the Kurdish Council of Ministers, Umed Sabah, told Shafaq News Agency that Prime Minister Masrour Barzani directed to form of a delegation to discuss with the federal Government the "rights of the Kurdish component that agreed with the Sunni and Shiite forces in Baghdad."

Negotiations are underway between the two sides to resolve the differences, including oil, the fiscal budget, and the Peshmerga deployment in the disputed areas.

During the Government of former Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi (2018-2020), both sides concluded an agreement that requires Baghdad to pay all the salaries of the Kurdistan Region for the first time since 2014. In return, Erbil would deliver the revenue of 250,000 barrels of oil out of nearly 500,000 barrels that Kurdistan exports independently.

Baghdad said Erbil did not adhere to this agreement almost wholly, while the Kurdish Government confirmed that it fulfilled its promises.

In May 2020, the former PM Mustafa Al-Kadhimi decided to stop paying the salaries of the Region's employees, amounting to nearly 500 million dollars per month, due to the financial crisis.

Consequently, the Region's senior officials, including President Nechirvan Barzani and Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, visited Baghdad frequently to find solutions, but s

Another part of the disagreement is the disputed areas.

The Iraqi army forces regained in October 2017 control of the Kirkuk Governorate and the disputed areas, extending across a strip starting east from Diyala, passing through Saladin, and reaching southwest of Nineveh.

The Iraqi Kurdistan used to keep control over all those areas after the collapse of the Iraqi army in 2014 following the attack by ISIS.

Since 2017, security in Kirkuk and the disputed areas has been maintained through multiple federal forces, including the army, the federal police, the counter-terrorism service, and Popular Mobilization Forces.

An announced agreement between Baghdad and Erbil stipulated that four joint security centers be formed in the disputed areas in Kirkuk, Diyala, Makhmur, and Mosul, to cover the vacuum areas between the army and the Peshmerga to prevent ISIS activities. However, the agreement is now suspended, and both sides accuse each other of a lack of responsiveness.

Now, with a new round of talks, many future scenarios are posed for the relationship. But hope was raised by forming a new federal government head by Muhammad Shia'a Al-Sudani.