Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi asked Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), not to exploit the war on Daesh to expand the Kurds’ territory, according to a government statement published after their meeting in Baghdad today.
The meeting discussed issues between Baghdad and the KRG-controlled capital of Erbil, as well as the preparation for the battle to dislodge Daesh from Mosul in northern Iraq.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces are expected to take part in the assault on the city that Al-Abadi wants to retake this year, with the backing of a US-led coalition.
“The aim of the battle should not be territorial conflicts but to free the citizens from the persecution of Daesh,” said Abadi, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, Barzani hinted at warmer relations with Baghdad, saying: “With the prime minister we have agreed to solve [our] disputes, especially economic and oil and gas, and seek a better solution for them all.”
The KRG claims 17 per cent of the Iraqi national budget, despite Kurds representing around 15 per cent of the overall Iraqi population. Budgetary disputes between Baghdad and Erbil have frequently flared up over the past several years, leading to Kurdish civil servants missing their pay cheques.
The KRG has already expanded its control to Kirkuk, an oil-rich region historically claimed by the Kurds, after the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of Daesh’s lightning advance two years ago. The Kurds also expanded their military presence in the area around Mosul, just west of Erbil.
The Peshmerga are deployed east, north and northwest of Mosul while Iraqi government forces have been gradually progressing from the south, tightening the noose around the city that had a pre-war population of about 2 million.
It was from Mosul’s Hadba Mosque, named so after its iconic leaning minaret, that Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared his caliphate that has now seen significant territorial losses over the past year.