“Meetings have been held on technical levels and with committees associated with oil and disputing cases between central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG),” Saad Hadithi, the spokesperson of the Iraqi government, announced.
“But at a political level, we have no knowledge of any such visits,” he added.
Hadithi also said fences could not be fully mended between Erbil and Baghdad after just one or two meetings.
Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff of the Kurdistan Region’s presidency, had told Rudaw over the weekend that a KRG delegation would visit Baghdad next week in a bid to further thaw strained ties between Erbil and Baghdad.
Mahdi Allaq, the secretary of Iraq’s Council of Ministers, also weighed in.
“Indeed, the talks that have been ongoing for the past few months are associated with a set of cases yielding good results in some cases including that of border crossings, airports, and some specific matters related to customs,” he said.
Allaq was in Erbil to attend the funeral of the late Dilovan Barzani, the twin brother of KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.
He had also said the matter of oil will top the agenda in the upcoming meeting.
Relations between Erbil and Baghdad have improved recently with the federal government lifting the ban on international flights bound for the Kurdistan Region and releasing some funds to pay the salaries of KRG state employees.
A number of meetings between KRG Prime Minister Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi have helped to thaw tensions.
