Kurdistan prepares for financial settlements with Baghdad

Shafaq News / Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) MP , Bashar Al-Kiki announced the regional government's readiness for financial settlements with Baghdad, while he expressed optimism about the success of Baghdad-Erbil talks this week.

"The regional government is ready to settle in all budgets with Baghdad according to the constitution and the law away from any jurisprudence or uniqueness as happened in the file of cutting the salaries of the region's employees, which is a clear constitutional violation, indicating that salaries are an acquired right and not a political matter and cannot cut the salaries of employees to address the country's financial hardship,” Al-Kiki told Shafaq News.

"The regional government can be held accountable if it does not pay the salaries of the employees allocated from the federal budget, explaining that the decision to pay the salaries of employees is a matter of the Ministry of Finance and the decision to cut it under the direction of the Prime Minister of the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers without going through the Ministry of Finance is a legal and constitutional violation."

Al-Kiki expressed optimism about the success of the negotiations between the region and Baghdad this week, resolving the outstanding issues between the two sides, most notably the salaries of employees, Peshmerga, farmers 'dues, and discussing the Kurds' proposals to approve the oil and gas law and distribute wealth in the country.

It is scheduled for a delegation of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to pay a visit to Baghdad this week to resume discussions with the federal government to resolve the differences and outstanding issues between the two sides, according to what a source in KRG told Shafaq News.

The delegation of the region had held last week two rounds of discussions with the Iraqi government, as well as consultations with leaders and officials of Iraqi political parties on resolving the outstanding differences between Baghdad and Erbil.

The visit came days after the Iraqi government cut the salaries of employees of Kurdistan Region after it said that the region had not fulfilled its obligations in the financial budget represented by the delivery of 250 thousand barrels of oil per day to the federal government.

The agreement includes the delivery of Kurdistan Region, the amount of 250 thousand barrels per day of oil to the Federal Government in return for handing Baghdad a share of about 13 % of the budget to the region in addition to the salaries of employees and Peshmerga.

The cut in the salaries of the region’s employees has sparked widespread criticism inside and outside the region, as observers considered that this decision comes in the context of political pressure coinciding with the efforts of Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Al-Kadhimi to form the new government.

There are pending issues between the two sides for many years, most notably among them is the disputed territories, how to manage oil wealth, the budget of Peshmerga forces, and others.