The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers on Wednesday called on Baghdad to fulfill its obligations by immediately sending salaries for July and August after positive talks toward a solution of the disputes between Baghdad and Erbil.

Furthermore, the council said that Baghdad should ensure that Kurdistan Region public employees receive their full salaries on time, as it does for public employees in the rest of Iraq.

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During the weekly meeting, Amanj Rahim, Secretary of the KRG Council of Ministers, presented the details of the latest joint proposals to the federal government and the KRG regarding the resumption of oil exports from the region, which were approved in yesterday’s Iraqi Council of Ministers meeting, following the approval by the KRG Council of Ministers last week and its submission to Baghdad.

According to this new agreement, while supporting the implementation of the previous decision of both Councils of Ministers that all oil produced in the region – except the amount intended for local consumption – be handed over to the State Organization for Marketing of Oil, the current negotiations have halted at the signing of a tripartite agreement for oil exports.

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However, the KRG said the negotiations have progressed positively, and the agreement is expected to be signed by the end of this week.

Until the signing of this tripartite agreement, the Kurdistan Region will hand over its share of oil to the federal Ministry of Oil. For this purpose, the KRG Council of Ministers tasked the KRG Minister of Natural Resources and the negotiation delegation to take the necessary measures, and stressed that the federal government must, in return, fulfill its obligations by immediately sending salaries.

Since 2014, Baghdad has repeatedly cut the Kurdistan Region’s budget and salaries, deepening its economic woes.

In July, the KRG and Baghdad struck a deal for the KRG to deliver 230,000 barrels of oil daily and 120 billion Iraqi dinars in non-oil revenues in order to resume oil exports that have been halted since 2023.

Last month, Baghdad transferred the money for the Kurdistan Region’s June salaries, while the salaries for July and August are still pending.