The spokesperson of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Safin Dizayi stated that during the negotiations between Irbil and the Baghdad government, both sides reconciled on six articles regarding the solution of the crisis that occurred following the independence referendum attempt of the Irbil government in September.Speaking at an event in Irbil on Thursday, Dizayi said that the majority of the problems between the two sides are solved. However, the spokesperson did not give any information on the content of the articles.
"There has been reconciliation on six articles. In order to approve the agreement, the delegations are waiting for the ultimate decision of Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi," said Dizayi while adding that they did not receive any official response yet.
Dizayi further expressed that the KRG delegation is ready to go to Baghdad if Haider Al-Abadi approves the agreement while indicating that they are waiting for the response of Iraq in order to take any further steps.
On the other hand, Dizayi said that he does not have any information on $200 million dollars transferred to Iraqi Central Bank's Irbil branch to pay the salaries of the KRG officials.Iraqi deputy of Kurdish origin and a member of finance committee Mesud Haydar made a statement to Anadolu Agency (AA) on Wednesday, saying that Baghdad government send $250 billion Iraqi dinar (almost $200 million dollars) to Kurdistan region in order to pay the salaries of officials of the Health and Education ministries.
The KRG has been struggling to pay the Peshmerga and its employees since 2014 after Baghdad stopped payments to it because of a dispute about oil-sharing revenue. The cost of a three-year war on Daesh added to the KRG's financial difficulties, and Iraqi troops captured the oil-rich region of Kirkuk from Peshmerga forces in early October after the referendum, halving the KRG's oil income.
Dizayi further expressed that KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani will visit U.K. within this month as the guest of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May.
Tensions rose in the region when the KRG held an independence referendum on Sept. 25, 2017, and the Kurds overwhelmingly voted to secede. The referendum faced sharp opposition from most regional and international actors, including Iraq's neighbors Turkey and Iran. Baghdad imposed tough measures and launched operations to take over border gates and airports in the KRG.In the weeks following the referendum, Iraqi government forces moved into several parts of the country disputed between Baghdad and the Irbil, including oil-rich Kirkuk province.
