Dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad is ongoing and “our main aim is to reach a deal that protects our constitutional rights,” Barzani had said in the meeting, as quoted by readout from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) media office.
Barzani described the meeting as “fruitful” in a tweet, saying “I welcomed UNAMI’s important efforts to broker political settlements between KRG and Federal Govt and promote reconciliation and trust between major groups in the disputed territories, including in Kirkuk.”
Barzani added that the Kurdistan Region has continued to fulfill its humanitarian duties sheltering refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) despite its limited economic resources and financial crisis.
The two also concurred that Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution should be implemented to decide the future of disputed territories.
Hennis-Plasschaert also discussed Erbil-Baghdad relations in a same-day meeting with President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani.
Relations between Erbil and Baghdad turned sour after the former went ahead with its planned referendum for independence from Iraq in September 2017, a move that culminated in an air embargo on the Kurdistan Region and loss of the disputed territories previously controlled by Peshmerga forces.
Kurds and Arabs in Iraq have been locked in disputes over land ownership since Arabization policies were set in place by Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein, most notably in Kirkuk.
Disputed territories in Iraq are claimed by both Erbil and Baghdad. Article 140 of the Iraqi constitution was supposed to have resolved the issue of disputed territories by 2007, but little progress has so far been made in its implementation, which calls for a census and referendum in these areas to establish the will of the people.
Additional disputes over natural resources and independent oil and gas sales by the KRG still linger between Erbil and Baghdad. Relations between the two plunged in 2014 when the KRG began exporting oil directly to Turkey. Baghdad responded by cutting the KRG’s budget share.
Facing the budget cut, falling oil prices, a costly war with the Islamic State (ISIS), and hosting nearly 2 million displaced Iraqis, the KRG introduced a salary saving scheme in 2014 that lasted nearly four years. The wildly unpopular measure slashed the salaries of state employees and delayed payments for months at a time.
Iraq’s 2019 budget bill stipulates Iraqi federal government will pay KRG salaries regardless of whether other terms are honored.
For other budget allocations, Baghdad requires the KRG to export 250,000 barrels of oil per day through Iraq’s state oil-marketing company SOMO and hand over all federal revenues to the central treasury - which the KRG has yet to do.
The Kurdistan Region currently receives a 12.67 percent share of the federal budget, short of the 17 percent it was receiving before relations between Erbil and Baghdad deteriorated.
