Iraq
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani speaks at the graduation ceremony of Peshmerga officers in Sulaimiani province on May 22, 2022. Photo: Office of the President.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Friday welcomed the United Nations Security Council’s call for structured dialogue between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government. This comes a day after the UN extended its assistance mission to Iraq and tasked its special representative to facilitate dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad.
President Barzani thanked the council for extending the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq's (UNAMI) mandate in a tweet on Friday, adding that he welcomes the UN’s call for the KRG and the federal government to engage in “regular and structured dialogue” in order to resolve the outstanding issues between the two sides.
Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad have escalated in the past few months after the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruled in February that the KRG’s oil and gas law was “unconstitutional,” striking down the legal basis for the independence of the Region’s oil and gas sector. The decision was swiftly rejected by the KRG who deemed the judgement to be “unjust” and “unconstitutional”.
“Further, the Special Representative and UNAMI were tasked with actively supporting the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to work together and engage in regular and structured dialogue to resolve outstanding issues, including security provisions, budgetary arrangements and the management of Iraq’s oil and gas resources,” read a statement from the UN Security Council.
During his remarks to the graduating class of Zakho Military College in Duhok on Thursday, President Barzani asked Baghdad to work towards resolving the outstanding issues with Erbil as soon as possible “if it truly considers the Kurdistan Region and its people as a part of Iraq.”
Niyaz Salih, head of the Kurdistan Region Presidency’s Foreign Affairs and Diplomacy, on Friday stated the decision from the UN Security Council was a “very important” step towards resolving the issues with the federal government.
“I do not want to raise people’s expectations, but if we take a look at the decision, we can say it’s internationalizing the issues between Erbil and Baghdad. Because this is the first time the Security Council joins the discussion, and clearly asks the United Nations to actively support dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad,” Salih told Rudaw’s Hawraz Gulpi on Friday.
President Barzani thanked the council for extending the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq's (UNAMI) mandate in a tweet on Friday, adding that he welcomes the UN’s call for the KRG and the federal government to engage in “regular and structured dialogue” in order to resolve the outstanding issues between the two sides.
Members of the UN Security Council unanimously voted on Thursday to extend UNAMI’s mandate until May 31, 2023. The council also tasked the mission’s Special Representative Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert to “actively” support Erbil and Baghdad in working together and holding structured dialogue.I thank the UN Security Council for extending UNAMI’s mandate, and welcome its call for Baghdad and Erbil to engage in regular and structured dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, consistent with the Constitution of Iraq.
— Nechirvan Barzani (@IKRPresident) May 27, 2022
Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad have escalated in the past few months after the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court ruled in February that the KRG’s oil and gas law was “unconstitutional,” striking down the legal basis for the independence of the Region’s oil and gas sector. The decision was swiftly rejected by the KRG who deemed the judgement to be “unjust” and “unconstitutional”.
“Further, the Special Representative and UNAMI were tasked with actively supporting the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to work together and engage in regular and structured dialogue to resolve outstanding issues, including security provisions, budgetary arrangements and the management of Iraq’s oil and gas resources,” read a statement from the UN Security Council.
During his remarks to the graduating class of Zakho Military College in Duhok on Thursday, President Barzani asked Baghdad to work towards resolving the outstanding issues with Erbil as soon as possible “if it truly considers the Kurdistan Region and its people as a part of Iraq.”
Niyaz Salih, head of the Kurdistan Region Presidency’s Foreign Affairs and Diplomacy, on Friday stated the decision from the UN Security Council was a “very important” step towards resolving the issues with the federal government.
“I do not want to raise people’s expectations, but if we take a look at the decision, we can say it’s internationalizing the issues between Erbil and Baghdad. Because this is the first time the Security Council joins the discussion, and clearly asks the United Nations to actively support dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad,” Salih told Rudaw’s Hawraz Gulpi on Friday.
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