In a meeting on Saturday with the outgoing U.S. Consul General in Erbil Steve Bitner, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani thanked the United States for its continued support for the Kurdistan Region.

In the meeting, Consul General Bitner conveyed his gratitude to the relevant KRG institutions for their cooperation and reaffirmed the importance his country places on enhancing its close and friendly relations with the Kurdistan Region.

Moreover, the two officials agreed on the importance of resuming the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports, upholding its federal status, and ensuring the constitutional and financial rights of the people of Kurdistan.

Read More: U.S. Calls on Iraqi PM to Stop Attacks on U.S. Companies in Kurdistan

Around 20 drone strikes were carried out on the Kurdistan Region after July 14. The United States has called on Baghdad to stop the attacks, and has also supported the resumption of the oil exports.

Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline were stopped in 2023 due to an arbitration court ruling against the exports in a case filed by Baghdad against Turkey.

In a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani last Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on the Iraqi Prime Minister to stop the recent attacks on energy infrastructure in the Kurdistan Region.

On the same day, Baghdad agreed to pay the May salaries of the Kurdistan Region as part of a deal with the KRG.

The KRG’s public employees did not receive their salaries for over 80 days after Iraq’s Ministry of Finance decided to stop paying salaries in May.