SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Wednesday the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is part of a strategic dialogue between the United States and Iraq, scheduled for Wednesday.
Iraq and the United States is scheduled to hold their strategic dialogue on Wednesday on the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces and other maters related to their bilateral relations.
“The KRG is part of the US-Iraq Strategic Dialogue this week. This is important,” Barzani said in a tweet.
“We believe that Iraq still faces serious terror threats, including from ISIS, and that the country still needs coalition support,” he added.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that he would meet his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on Wednesday at the U.S.-Iraq strategic dialogue.
“We will review progress in every area of our broad and strategic partnership,” he said in a tweet.
In March, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the meetings would clarify that the U.S.-led Coalition forces were in Iraq for training and advising Iraqi forces so Islamic State (ISIS) cannot reconstitute.
“This will be an important opportunity to discuss our mutual interests across a range of fields from security to culture, trade, and climate,” she said.
The talks, which began in June under the Trump administration, would be the first under U.S. President Joe Biden, who assumed office in January.
So far, two sessions of strategic talks have been held – in June and August. Among the issues on the agenda laid out ahead of the talks were the presence of U.S. troops in the country, militia groups acting outside of state authority and Iraq’s dire economic crisis, according to AP.
Regarding the federal budget law for 2021, the KRG premier said the Kurdistan Region was waiting for the federal government to fulfil its obligations under the budget law for 2021.
The Iraqi Council of Representatives approved the federal budget of 130 trillion Iraqi dinars ($89.65 billion) as the country wrestles with an economic and financial crisis due to low crude prices.
“This budget was an accommodation — it doesn’t address all the hopes of either party. Our principal win is the continued protection and reinforcement of our constitutional rights,” Barzani said in a press conference.
“Let’s be optimistic about the Iraqi budget,” Barzani added. “I urge the federal govt to deliver its obligations under the new law. It will not address all of our disputes, but it is a strong basis to tackle the remaining issues.”
After months of wrangling, the KRG and the central government reached an agreement on thorny issues, including oil and non-oil revenues.
Under the 2021 budget law, the Kurdistan Region will be committed to produce 460,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).
After deducting expenses for production operations in the Region, transport of oil and the domestic consumption of crude oil, the KRG must hand over to Baghdad revenues generated from regional oil exports of 250,000 bpd, according to Iraq’s SOMO pricing, as well as 50 percent of non-oil revenue.
The Kurdistan Region, in return, will receive its share of the budget, which is set at 13.9%.
