Kurdish delegation in Baghdad for talks

A high-level delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Qubad Talabani, arrived in Baghdad yesterday to resume talks over the outstanding issues between Erbil and the federal government in Baghdad, Anadolu reported.

The agency quoted an unnamed official source in the KRG as saying that the discussions will focus on the 2021 budget as well as how to distribute financial revenues.

According to the source, the two parties will mostly focus on the region’s delivery of crude oil to Baghdad in return for the region’s share of the federal budget.

For years, Baghdad and Erbil have been at odds over oil wealth and areas of control.

The last round of talks between the two sides took place last month.

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Last April, the former government headed by Adel Abdul Mahdi cut the salaries of state employees in the region and accused the region of not adhering to the agreement to deliver 250,000 barrels of oil per day to Baghdad, which was denied by Erbil.

However, last month the Iraqi government decided to send 320 billion dinars (about $268 million) per month to Erbil to pay the salaries of public sector employees, until a final agreement is reached on the outstanding files.