SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Head of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement Ammar al-Hakim said on Sunday the Iraqi constitution must be the basis for resolving issues between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with Hakim who led a delegation of National Iraqi Alliance in Erbil.
Barzani and Hakim discussed the latest developments in Iraq as well as relations between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government, according to a KRG statement.
“We consider the Kurdistan Region to be our friend and ally,” Hakim was quoted as saying by the KRG.
“The [Iraqi] Constitution must be the basis for resolving the outstanding problems between the KRG and the federal government regarding the federal budget for 2021,” Hakim said.
Hakim further said he supports an agreement reached between Baghdad and Erbil regarding the federal budget for fiscal year 2021, the KRG statement read.
The KRG premier, for his part, asserted that the Kurdistan Region always wanted to resolve the issues with Baghdad on the basis of securing the Region’s constitutional rights and entitlements.
“I had a friendly and frank exchange with @Ammar_Alhakeem on the progress of our negotiations regarding the 2021 budget. I reaffirmed the importance of a constitutional agreement on all issues on the basis of partnership and fairness,” Barzani said in a tweet.
A high-level delegation from the Kurdistan Region led by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani has visited Baghdad several times for talks with senior officials, politicians and lawmakers on the issues.
Despite a series of meetings, Baghdad and Erbil have yet to reach a final agreement on their suspending issues, including oil and border crossings.
The draft budget law commits the Kurdistan Region to hand over 250,000 barrels of oil per day and non-oil revenue to Baghdad in exchange for the Region’s share of the budget.
On Tuesday, U.N. envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said agreements on the federal budget for 2021 “requires reconciliation and compromise” between Baghdad and Erbil.
“Those who have followed the recent budgetary negotiations closely, will have realized that these negotiations were not just centered on technical questions – such as barrels per day. They were also inherently political – about deeper misgivings and mistrust,” she said.
“So, let me re-emphasize: a positive, stable relationship between federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region is absolutely essential to the stability of the whole country,” she added.
