Deputy Prime Minister Talabani meets with Kurdish members of Iraqi parliament, discusses budget disputes with Baghdad

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (GOV.KRD) – Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani on Monday met with Kurdish members of the Iraqi parliament to discuss economic challenges in the region, and Baghdad’s recent decision to cut the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget.

During the meeting, which was also attended by the Iraqi parliament's deputy speaker, the Deputy Prime Minister shed light on outstanding problems between Erbil and Baghdad. He urged unanimity and better coordination between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Kurdish parliamentary blocs in Baghdad to defend Kurdistanis' constitutional rights.

Deputy Prime Minister Talabani and the politicians agreed that peoples’ livelihoods should not be subjected to political pressure. The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the KRG is committed to the agreement it reached with the federal government late last year covering the region’s oil sales and finances.

They stressed that outstanding problems should be resolved within the frameworks of the federal oil and gas law and the revenue distribution law, in a way that honours both parties' constitutional rights.

The KRG delegation for federal budget affairs also attended the meeting. They briefed the Deputy Prime Minister and the parliamentarians on their recent visit to Baghdad to negotiate KRG’s share of the federal budget.