Peregraf
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) held a high-level meeting on Monday, led by KDP President Masoud Barzani and PUK President Bafel Talabani, in a renewed push to address the deepening salary crisis and ongoing disputes with the federal government in Baghdad.
Following the meeting, a joint statement said both parties had agreed to intensify all efforts to resolve the crisis and ensure the disbursement of salaries and financial entitlements to the people of the Kurdistan Region. The statement affirmed that all necessary steps must be taken "within the framework of the Constitution and in coordination with both sides" to reach a solution.
The meeting was also aimed at strengthening the partnership between the two dominant parties in the Region. "Another part of the meeting was devoted to further strengthening relations between the PUK and the KDP to overcome obstacles and challenges and protect the status of the Kurdistan Region and its achievements," the joint statement said.
Leaders from both parties also underscored the importance of political unity. "The meeting emphasized the need to unite the positions of all political parties in Kurdistan and Iraq to cooperate and support in resolving this issue," it added.
The latest political development comes in the wake of a special session of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held on Sunday and chaired by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, with Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani in attendance. That session was focused on the worsening financial situation that has left civil servants without pay for May and June.
According to a statement released by the KRG, Prime Minister Barzani briefed the cabinet 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 a unified government stance on the matter, saying there is "consensus and solidarity" within the cabinet to protect the legal and constitutional rights of public employees. "This issue is the priority of the government and for this purpose it is continuously working to resolve it," the Prime Minister said.
At the heart of the crisis is a dispute over the implementation of the federal budget law. Baghdad has withheld budget transfers to the Region, accusing the KRG of failing to deliver the agreed 400,000 barrels per day of oil to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) and not meeting its share of non-oil revenues. The financial squeeze has deepened public dissatisfaction, especially among unpaid public sector workers.
The KRG’s emergency session came a day after the KDP Presidency issued a strongly worded statement, warning that Baghdad was being given a "last chance" to resolve the dispute. The statement revealed that Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein had recently returned to Erbil and held discussions with KDP leaders, relaying new pledges from federal officials.
"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 said.
Despite growing frustrations, the KDP reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue, emphasizing that mutual understanding remains the preferred path forward. "We have always believed that if there is a way through dialogue, we would like to resolve issues through mutual understanding," the party's statement concluded.