Barzani, Abadi to meet next week with oil topping the agenda

DAVOS, Switzerland – KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani described meeting his Haider al-Abadi, Iraq's prime minister, on Wednesday as "very important" and revealed they meet again next week.

"We talked about things that have been done up to now and also the committees that have been formed between both sides. The questions of airports, salaries, and dams were discussed," Barzani said, adding they will meet again next week.

The matter of oil will top the agenda in order to "reach some solutions," he added.

He warned, however, that solutions to the many problems between the two sides "cannot all be reached at the same time."

"The problems are bad," he explained. "We believe that, before the elections are held, the questions of airports and salaries, God willing, will be resolved," Barzani said.

Iraqis go to the polls on May 12.

Though progress is being made, there appears to still be a significant gap between the two sides, made evident by their separate interpretations of their discussions.

A statement from Abadi’s office said they stressed the importance of “preserving the unity and the sovereignty of Iraq, and that the Region's citizens are part of Iraqi people.”

The importance of “rebuilding and activating” federal authority over the Kurdistan Region, including borders and airports, was repeatedly stressed in the Iraqi statement.

The two leaders also discussed “the importance of handing over the extracted oil to the federal authority and the oil should be exported exclusively by the federal government through [state-owned] SOMO company,” the statement added.

Regarding paying KRG salaries, the Iraqi statement said the committees are expected to complete their audit soon and then ensure payment “reaches the deserving employees” under the supervision of the federal financial office.

"What they have said in the statement is in fact untrue. We never talked about such things," Barzani asserted about Abadi's comments on oil.

"The Kurdistan Region's stance is very clear," he said. "The Kurdistan Region wants to resolve its problems within the context of the Iraqi constitution. We have said this in the past and reiterated it again here. We spoke also in this way with the [Iraqi] prime minister.”

Barzani also met with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the economic forum, saying it was a good opportunity to talk about progress they have made with Baghdad.

Tillerson was optimistic that Erbil and Baghdad would resolve their outstanding issues, Barzani said.

Barzani spoke positively of his many meetings at the World Economic Forum.

"Our meetings in general were very good," he said, describing the forum as an "opportunity" to meet and speak with many people.

"We hope we see a result. We do not want to miss any opportunity to achieve a result which will be in the interest of the Kurdistan nation and Iraq,” he said.