President Barzani hails Iraqi cabinet decision to finance salaries

Shafaq News/ The President of the Kurdistan region, Nechirvan Barzani, on Sunday praised the Iraqi Cabinet's decision to finance the salaries of public servants in the Kurdistan region.

In a statement to reporters, Barzani said that his visit to Baghdad was primarily to participate in the Iraqi Martyr's Day ceremony. He added that he had since held a series of meetings with Iraqi political leaders.

"We discussed two main issues in these meetings," Barzani said. "The first is the issue of the livelihood of the people of the Kurdistan Region. We believe that the Regional Government has fulfilled all of its obligations to Baghdad. The issue of salaries should be dealt with as it is with the rest of the Iraqi provinces. It should not be turned into a political issue or a bargaining chip against the Kurdistan Region."

Barzani also said that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani had a "very good understanding" of the issue. "I am sure that he will do everything he can to resolve this problem," Barzani said. "As you know, a decision was issued by the Cabinet today. We thank Prime Minister al-Kadhimi. This issue was not originally on the agenda of the meeting, but he insisted on adding it. We believe that this decision is a good start to resolving the problems."

A government source confirmed to the Shafaq News Agency that the Iraqi government would send 615 billion Iraqi dinars to the Kurdistan Region to secure the salaries of its employees.

The decision comes after talks between Barzani and Iraqi officials on the region's budget and salaries.

Barzani arrived in Baghdad on Saturday to participate in the official ceremony commemorating Iraqi Martyr's Day, the anniversary of the assassination of Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim.

During the ceremony, Barzani called on political forces to work to resolve the issue of salaries and the region's share of the federal budget. He said that people in the region are living in poor living conditions due to the failure to resolve these disputes and outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad.