ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday discussed developments in Iraq and the region with Washington’s incoming Charge D'affaires in Baghdad Joshua Harris. The US diplomat reaffirmed the Region’s status as a “key partner” of Washington.
In a statement, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) reported that Prime Minister Barzani and Harris “discussed developments in Iraq and the wider region, as well as ways to further expand relations between the Kurdistan Region and the United States.”
The Kurdistan Region Premier further “underlined the importance of deepening bilateral relations” between Erbil and Washington.
The meeting, attended by US Consul General in Erbil Gwendolyn Green, also addressed “the need to resume oil exports” from the Kurdistan Region “as soon as possible,” and underscored the importance of the federal government fulfilling its obligations to the Region, including the payment of civil servant salaries and other financial entitlements.
Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been halted since March 2023, following a ruling by a Paris-based arbitration court in favor of Baghdad. The court found that Ankara had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to independently export oil since 2014.
Tensions escalated further in May when Baghdad froze transfers to the KRG, accusing it of exceeding its 12.67 percent share and failing to honor export commitments. The move disrupted salaries of more than 1.2 million public employees in the Region.
On Monday, the Iraqi government, the KRG, and oil companies inked a tripartite agreement to restart Kurdish oil exports.
An informed source told Rudaw English that under the new agreement, the companies operating in the Kurdistan Region will receive crude oil in lieu of cash. Exports are expected to resume in the coming days.
The American charge d’affaires was additionally cited by the KRG statement as highlighting “the strategic role of the Kurdistan Region as a key partner of the US,” reaffirming “Washington’s support and commitment to strengthening ties across various sectors.”
Erbil and Washington have long enjoyed strong ties.
The US has been one of the primary backers of the Kurdistan Region since it secured autonomy in the 1990s and has played an instrumental role in the development of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, particularly through its leadership of the global coalition to defeat the Islamic State (ISIS). It is also the primary backer of Peshmerga reforms and the unification of the Kurdish forces.
Washington is also set to open a new consulate general in Erbil, which will be the largest in the world.