Erbil — Kurdistan’s Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, addressed a telegram to US President Joe Biden, protesting about the Baghdad government’s pressure and pleading with him to intervene swiftly to preserve the area from “final collapse.”
According to the Monitor Network, Barzani addressed President Biden, “I am writing to you now as we are at the crossroads of another crisis in our history, a crisis that I fear (the possibility) that we will not overcome easily.” Economically and politically, we are bleeding.”
“For the first time since taking office, I am deeply concerned that the dishonorable campaign being waged against us (by the Baghdad government) will ultimately lead to the destruction of the Iraqi federal model that the United States has sponsored since 2003 and has been eager to continue until now,” he added.
He threatened the “total and complete collapse of the Iraqi Kurdistan region” unless President Biden intervened personally to persuade the Iraqi government, stating, “We believe that your administration has great influence in Baghdad that it can use to defuse the current crisis.”
According to the Monitor Network, the communication arrived at the White House on the third of this month.
Observers remarked that Baghdad’s posture has shifted since then, with the decision to pay a portion of the region’s dues and the Kurdistan Democratic Party being invited back to Kirkuk. Even when the city’s demonstrations erupted, this appeal was renewed.
The Coordination Framework government proposed at the beginning of this month to send 500 billion dinars to the regional government as a “loan” that it could repay using oil proceeds. However, the plan was rejected by the regional administration.
“The total financial dues to the Kurdistan Region, according to the schedules of the Federal Budget Law for the year 2023, amount to one trillion and 375 billion dinars per month, of which 906 billion dinars are allocated to pay the salaries of Kurdistan Region employees,” said regional government spokesman Peshwa Hawramani. However, the Federal Ministry of Finance, from January 1st to… It has now distributed a total of two trillion and 598 billion dinars to the Kurdistan region, including 400 billion dinars for the months of October and November 2022, while the total amount allocated to the Kurdistan region until August 2023 and according to the budget law amounts to 11 trillion dinars.
The region’s oil income are subject to Baghdad’s oversight and are part of Iraq’s OPEC export quota. Because Iraqi oil output has stayed within the boundaries of its allotment, and the Iraqi Ministry of Oil gets 85 thousand barrels of oil from the region, the region’s exports have not damaged the Iraqi budget. Every day since June 25 for local usage.
While the regional government expressed willingness to deliver the quantity requested by the ministry based on the production capacity of local refineries, the federal government failed to meet its commitment regarding oil production costs and did not pay a single dinar to cover the costs of extracting, producing, and transporting oil.
Under American pressure, the Baghdad administration ultimately chose to pay the Kurdistan region 500 billion dinars as part of its dues rather than as a loan.
Kurdish authorities are meeting with American officials to debate whether Iraq’s system is federal or central, and they claim that the dealings with the area are not federal, as Baghdad wants to control everything relating to the region.
The administration of Muhammad Shia al-Sudani attempted to satisfy him by proposing to allow the Kurdistan Democratic Party to return to Kirkuk, so that he would not complain about Baghdad’s abuse of the province, and to create a foundation for sharing influence in the city. However, the coordination framework’s official position still deems the region to be subordinate to Baghdad’s central authority. The area is requesting funds that it does not deserve.
Jassem Muhammad Jaafar, a member of the State of Law coalition, stated that Masrour Barzani’s recent statements about the region’s relationship with the center reflect the regional government’s fear of the Kurdish people revolting against it, and that this is due to “illegitimate and illegal demands regarding taking amounts from Baghdad.”
“Instead of making provocative statements, Masrour Barzani should have fulfilled the budget promises and returned the amounts of oil sold during (smuggling) to Turkey instead of lamenting what happened in Kirkuk, and to understand the mistake they made when they signed a contract with Turkey without consulting the government,” he added. “Federal.”
Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, denounced the Iraqi Parliament’s adoption of the state budget, calling it unlawful and unconstitutional, and believing that it exacerbated the conflict with the area.
“The Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government reached a good and positive agreement to resolve the quandaries in order to consolidate the country’s foundations of stability and serve the people,” he added. However, certain political groups acted irresponsibly in order to undermine the Kurdistan region’s entity.”
