PM Barzani urges Baghdad to honor Kurdish rights as oil deal advances

Shafaq News – Duhok

Oil companies in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq’s federal government reached an initial understanding on payments covering crude production costs, Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Saturday.

During the inauguration of the Sheikhan–Lalish road in Duhok province, Barzani said talks with Baghdad on the federal budget and salaries for public employees in the Kurdistan Region are ongoing. “There are no obstacles from our side, but excuses are being created by others,” he said. “We are working to remove them and secure the financial rights of our people.”

He added that progress in negotiations between Baghdad and oil firms marks “an important step toward a final agreement.”

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“I hope this understanding will be realistic and accepted by all, and that the federal government will uphold the rights of Kurdistan’s citizens,” Barzani said. He stressed that salaries must not be used as a bargaining tool or reduced to daily media headlines.