SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Factions of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) and the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) on Monday walked out of a meeting between a government delegation and the Kurdistan Parliament regarding talks between Erbil and Baghdad.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani visited the Kurdistan parliament to hold a meeting with the parliament’s presidency and heads of parliamentary committees to discuss the delegation’s current visit to Baghdad.
The KIU and KIG blocs in the Kurdistan Parliament boycotted the meeting, saying it should have been held inside the parliament’s hall and with the attendance of all lawmakers.
“The Parliament’s presidency has become a part of the government and has lost its independency as an institution elected by people,” head of the KIG bloc Abdulstar Majid told reporters.
The KRG delegation will discuss its meetings and agreement with the federal government regarding the Region’s share of the federal budget for 2021 and other issues including oil.
The KRG deputy premier said on Tuesday that Erbil and Baghdad had reached an agreement over the 2021 federal budget bill.
The draft budget law commits the Kurdistan Region to export 250,000 barrels of oil per day through Baghdad in exchange for the Region’s share of the federal budget, which is set at 12.67%.
The delegation which stayed in Baghdad for two weeks met with Iraqi officials and political leaders in an effort to reach a final deal over the rights and financial entitlements of the Kurdistan Region.
Talabani further said talks between Erbil and Baghdad would continue to secure the Region’s share of the budget in the fiscal deficit financing law, also known as the loan law.
The law, adopted by the Iraqi parliament last month without Kurds’ consent, commits the Kurdistan Region to hand over non-oil revenues and an amount of oil that SOMO indicates to the federal government in exchange for an amount of money as payment for the Region’s public servants.
KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani called on Wednesday for the U.N. to join talks between the Region and Baghdad as “a third party so that rights and duties of each side are clear”.
