Peregraf
High-level delegations from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani respectively, are scheduled to meet on Monday to address the worsening salary crisis, stalled oil exports, and ongoing disputes between Erbil and Baghdad, an informed source told Peregraf.
The development follows a special meeting of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held Sunday, chaired by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani. The session focused on the deepening financial crisis that has left civil servants unpaid for the months of May and June.
According to a statement from KRG, PM Barzani said discussions centered on "the latest efforts and results of negotiations with the federal government on the salaries and financial entitlements of the people of the Kurdistan Region and the resumption of oil exports as soon as possible.”
Barzani emphasized that there is a “consensus and solidarity” within the government to protect what he described as the legal and constitutional rights of salaried employees. “This issue is the priority of the government and for this purpose it is continuously working to resolve it,” he said.
The salary delays are tied to an unresolved dispute over the federal budget law, with Baghdad accusing the KRG of failing to hand over 400,000 barrels of oil per day to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) and falling short on non-oil revenue collection. As a result, Baghdad has withheld budget transfers, worsening economic pressures in the region.
The KRG meeting came a day after the KDP President office issued a statement giving Baghdad a “last chance” to resolve the crisis. According to the statement, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, who recently returned to Erbil, briefed KDP leaders on new pledges by federal officials to address the ongoing deadlock.
“At their request and promise, in order to continue a peaceful dialogue and take into account the situation and the public interest, we thought it would be good to give the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad a last chance to find a way to end this problem,” the KDP’s statement said.
The party reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue and mutual understanding as the path forward. “We have always believed that if there is a way through dialogue, we would like to resolve issues through mutual understanding,” it added.
Public frustration continues to mount across the Kurdistan Region amid the stalled payments and deteriorating market conditions, adding further urgency to Monday’s planned meeting between the KDP and PUK leadership.