Iraq eases financial restrictions on Kurdistan in the first gesture to defuse the crisis

A source in the banking sector in Iraq that the central bank on Wednesday reduced financial restrictions imposed on the Kurdistan region in response to the referendum on independence of the region after receiving a pledge from Kurdish banks to cooperate.
The source added that the central bank allowed only four Kurdish-owned banks to send and receive remittances of the dollar and foreign currencies on Wednesday.
This is the first measure to defuse the crisis that erupted after voters in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region voted overwhelmingly for independence in the September 25 referendum. The Iraqi government also imposed a ban on direct international flights to and from the region.
The central bank notified the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Tuesday that it would stop selling dollars to the four Kurdish banks and stop all foreign currency transfers to the region, banking and government sources told Reuters.
The measures aim to tighten the central bank's control over the Kurdish banking sector. "The ban on selling the dollar will be lifted if the central bank sees that the four banks are already cooperating in disclosing their financial transactions," the source said.
Two exchange offices said that the foreign exchange rate in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan region, the dollar price did not change today compared to the previous day.
Businessmen in Erbil expressed concern yesterday that the ban on the sale of the dollar could lead to a lack of liquidity and may create a black market because dealing with the Iraqi dinar is not acceptable abroad.
The Iraqi government has rejected a proposal from the Kurdish government to discuss independence and demanded the cancellation of the referendum result, otherwise the region will face ongoing sanctions, an international boycott and the possibility of military intervention.
With support from Iran and Turkey, Baghdad demanded that the Kurdistan government cancel the result of the referendum or face further sanctions, international isolation and possibly military intervention.
The ban on international travel imposed on Friday compels travelers to travel through Baghdad airport and other airports in southern Iraq. The ban mainly affects businessmen and foreigners working in the territory.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi went to Paris on his first foreign visit since the Kurdish crisis began. His office denied last week that he would hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macaron on the Kurdish referendum.
Before leaving Baghdad, Abbadi declared a three-day mourning for the death of veteran leader Jalal Talabani, a hero of the Kurdish cause who, when he took office, tried to repair sectarian and ethnic divisions in the country.
Talabani died in Germany on Tuesday, aged 83. He was the first non-Arab president of Iraq, a position he took in 2005, two years after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. Talabani stepped down in 2014.

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