“I am optimistic about this visit. The man carries with him the will for solutions and development of relations, and we will proceed from this visit to broader meetings,” Maliki told reporters, including Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz, following his meeting with President Barzani.
A former prime minister, Maliki leads the State of Law Coalition, which is part of the ruling State Administration Coalition alongside Barzani’s Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
President Barzani arrived in Baghdad on Saturday for meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and the State Administration Coalition. It is his second trip to the Iraqi capital in a month and comes against the backdrop of Sudani’s trip to Washington and a deadly drone strike on key oil and gas infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region.
Sudani’s trip to the United States and the recent visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad and Erbil were discussed during a meeting of the State Administration Coalition, according to Maliki.
Barzani on Sunday also met with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and several senior political leaders, including Leader of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement Ammar al-Hakim, President of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council Faiq Zidan, former Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, and former Speaker of Parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi.
In regards to Baghdad paying the salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants, Maliki said that the process will continue as there is a desire for cooperation and solutions in accordance with the constitution.
“The delivery of salaries continues. The salaries were received in the last month and there will be real solutions in the upcoming months,” he said.
Baghdad assumed responsibility for the Kurdistan Region’s payroll following a court order and Erbil’s lack of funds.
Barzani’s return to Baghdad is about a week after Sudani completed his trip to the US that included a meeting with President Joe Biden. President Barzani had gone to the Iraqi capital to meet with Sudani ahead of his trip to the US and attend a meeting of the Shiite-led governing coalition. Kurdistan Region’s salary issues were also discussed at that time, as was resuming Kurdish oil exports that have been halted for more than a year.
Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court in February ordered the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to submit a breakdown of the monthly budget for its payroll to the finance ministry so Baghdad can start paying the Region’s share from the federal budget.
In a press conference following his meeting with President Barzani in early April, Sudani said that Baghdad is keen to continue financing the Kurdistan Region’s payroll in a way that does not contradict the ruling of the Federal Supreme Court, and urged cooperation and flexibility from Erbil.
In Barzani’s latest meeting with the State Administration Coalition, Maliki said there had been no detailed discussions on the upcoming Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections, but noted that the possibility of a further delay has been reported.
“The State Administration Coalition does not discuss this topic, but we heard about a decision being issued by the [Kurdistan] Region Presidency postponing it [the elections] to October, but now the commission operates as if the elections are on June 10,” he added.
The Kurdistan Region is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on June 10, after two years of delays. The current date could be jeopardized by the KDP’s decision not to participate in protest over court rulings that the party deemed detrimental to the Region’s political entity.
The June 10 election will be unique in the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary history, with fewer seats in the legislature, a new constituency system, and the poll being administered by the federal commission for the first time due to disagreements between the main Kurdish parties that resulted in a failure to renew the mandate of the regional electoral body as required by law.
