ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Wednesday received Joshua Harris, the incoming US Charge D'affaires in Baghdad, underlining the need for a "permanent" resolution to ongoing financial disputes between Erbil and Baghdad. The talks notably come only days before the Kurdistan Region is set to resume its long-stalled oil exports.
In a statement, the Kurdistan Region Presidency said the two senior officials “discussed the United States’ relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,” affirming the need to boost those ties further.
Harris underlined “the common interests and values that bind the United States with the Kurdistan Region,” reiterating his country’s commitment “to promoting relations and expanding joint cooperation” with Erbil and Baghdad, the statement added.
The two top officials further emphasized the importance of the ongoing Erbil-Baghdad dialogue aimed at resolving tangled issues, specifically “the issue of financial entitlements and salaries” of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants.
“Both sides agreed that the financial dossier, as well as the salaries and entitlements of the Kurdistan Region, must be settled as soon as possible and resolved permanently,” the statement read.
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.
The Iraqi government, the KRG, and oil companies on Monday struck a tripartite agreement to restart Kurdish oil exports.
A spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday confirmed the Region's oil exports are expected to resume within 48 hours.
"There was a tripartite agreement. This agreement made very important steps forward. One to two [oil] companies had reservations, but it was not a big deal, therefore we cannot say that there is any problem hindering the resumption of oil exports," Peshawa Hawramani said.
He added that the KRG has “sent a letter to [Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization] SOMO to receive the oil from us. It is all done, what is left are the technical issues.”
“Based on our talks and agreements, we are expecting this issue will be resolved in the next 48 hours," Hawramani said, elaborating that “the Kurdistan Region's oil export capacity currently stands at 234,000 barrels of oil per day.”
Before the March 2023 halt, Erbil exported around 400,000 barrels per day through the pipeline, in addition to some 75,000 barrels of Kirkuk’s oil.
For its part, Erbil’s natural resources ministry confirmed the KRG has "fulfilled" all of its obligations towards the federal government and the international companies operating in the Kurdistan Region ahead of the anticipated resumption of oil exports.
President Barzani and the US envoy on Wednesday also discussed “the economic and general situation in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,” including the upcoming legislative elections in Iraq slated for November 10.
The two top officials further reviewed “the dangers of terrorism and confronting the threats of the Islamic State (ISIS), developments in the Middle East and the general situation in the region.”
