“Salaries must continue, it is the citizens’ right to live and obtain their entitlements and not be a part of any problems,” Mohamed al-Hassan told Rudaw. “I have great hope in the capabilities of the Iraqi people for resolving all the administrative problems without consequences.”
His remarks come amid ongoing oil and financial disputes between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government. On Monday, the Kurdistan Region’s finance ministry said it had received over a trillion Iraqi dinars from Baghdad to fund July salaries.
Tensions between the two sides escalated in late May when the federal finance ministry halted budget transfers, accusing the KRG of exceeding its 12.67 percent share and failing to fulfill oil export commitments. The suspension impacted the salaries of over 1.2 million public employees in the Kurdistan Region.
However, the standoff began to ease last month when Erbil and Baghdad reached a deal committing the KRG to export all of its oil - estimated at 230,000 barrels per day - through Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO).
“I have great hope in the expertise of the political leaders of this country to overcome these challenges,” Hassan asserted.
The UNAMI chief held separate meetings with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday, urging the need to address issues between the KRG and the Iraqi federal government.
On Wednesday, the KRG Council of Ministers met to discuss progress in Erbil-Baghdad talks on revenue sharing and the resumption of Kurdish exports. The cabinet directed the Region’s delegation to continue negotiations with Baghdad to promptly resume exports.
Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been suspended since March 2023 when a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying the latter had violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to begin exporting oil independently in 2014.
Halkawt Aziz contributed to this report.
