Iraq says Kurdistan’s budget share linked to oil exports through SOMO

10/05/2016
BAGHDAD,— Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s spokesman, Saad al-Hadithi, said on Tuesday issues surrounding the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget were associated with the export of Kirkuk oil through the Iraqi State Organization for Marketing Oil (SOMO).
Hadithi, in a televised speech to NRT Arabic, announced Masoud Barzani stressed resolving outstanding issues between Baghdad and Erbil during a meeting with Iraqi officials on Barzani’s latest visit to Baghdad.
Discussions on an offensive to dislodge Islamic State (IS) militants from Mosul, the largest city under the ultra-hardline Sunni group’s control, and the distribution of military units during the operation also took place, Hadithi said.

Hadithi stated salaries of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) employees were linked to the oil revenue sharing deal between Baghdad and Erbil and stressed, “The [Iraqi] government is keen on the interests of citizens and employees.”
“The KRG and the central government were in agreement to resolve existing issues between them and resume consultation and negotiations,” the spokesman said.
A KRG delegation is expected to pay a visit to Baghdad, Hadithi said, without elaborating.

According to the spokesman, “The Kurdistan Region’s budget share remains the same as past which is 17 percent of the Iraqi budget overall.”
News of another round of meetings came after a delegation headed by Barzani traveled to the Iraqi capital on September 29 for talks with Abadi as well as other officials.
Following his meeting with Abadi, Barzani said during a press conference the Kurdish delegation agreed to tackle the issues of the oil and gas law as well as the economic crisis.
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