ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - In a joint statement following a meeting of Kurdistan Region political forces on Saturday, the parties denounced the Iraqi finance ministry’s decision to halt payments to the Region. They said they would pursue a solution through dialogue, but warned that “all options” remain on the table.
“After necessary discussion and deliberation on this matter, all parties agreed that this decision is a political decision against the will of the people of Kurdistan and the political and legal framework of the Kurdistan Region,” read the statement.
On Wednesday, the Iraqi finance ministry announced that it would no longer send the Kurdistan Region its financial entitlements from the federal budget, including the salaries of over one million civil servants of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
The meeting to discuss the ministry’s decision was hosted by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in Pirmam, Erbil province. The final statement was signed by 43 parties, including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party (KSDP), Kurdistan Communist Party, and the Kurdsat wing of the Change Movement (Gorran).
The parties said Baghdad must not politicize the rights of civil servants and said that they favoured resolving the matter through dialogue.
“We consider dialogue and negotiation as the best solution for this phase, while at the same time we openly see all options before us for the sake of the higher interests of the Kurdistan Region,” the statement said.
The main opposition parties did not attend the Pirmam meeting, including the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the New Generation Movement, the National Stance Movement (Halwest), the People’s Front (Baray Gal), the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal), and the Zargata wing of Gorran.
New Generation on Friday said such discussions must take place in the parliament.
Finances are a frequent source of friction between Erbil and Baghdad. In stopping the payments, Baghdad accused Erbil of failing to hand over its oil and non-oil revenues and claimed that the KRG has received its full share of the federal budget for 2025.
The KDP said on Thursday that it would take a “serious stance” if Baghdad fails to pay the May salaries by June 6, which coincides with the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha.
The finance ministry’s decision to cease payments to Erbil came on the heels of the KRG inking two new oil and gas deals with American firms, drawing the ire of Iraq’s oil ministry, which has taken legal action.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article wrongly stated that the KIU also signed the statement with the KDP.