ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Erbil-Baghdad relations are hitting a new low, after the Kurdistan Region said it was ready for independent oil sales and the Shiite-led central government threatened to cut off funding to the autonomous northern enclave.
"This is a constitutional violation which we will never allow; not for the (Kurdistan) region nor for the Turkish government," Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki told the Reuters news agency in an interview.
He warned that, despite rows with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) over energy issues, vast tracts of disputed territories and the Kurdish Peshmarga army which Baghdad insists should be placed under its control, the central government had resisted cutting funding from the annual budget.
"We did not do that because we did not want to affect the Kurdish people, and we were looking to find acceptable solutions that would preserve national unity and the national wealth,” Maliki said. “But this year the situation looks difficult," he warned.
The budget row has resurfaced every year, with Baghdad grudgingly going ahead with funding and Erbil complaining it has never received its 17 percent constitutional allocation from the budget. However, getting the 2014 budget through the Iraqi parliament appears a tougher challenge, due to the KRG’s resolve to go ahead with oil exports to Turkey.
With parliamentary elections scheduled for April and Baghdad facing a serious Sunni insurgency, Maliki’s government is under heavy pressure this year to take serious action against the KRG. This may include cutting the region’s budget to save face and appealing to its electoral constituents in Iraq.
In the meantime, cutting the budget could have serious implications for Iraq’s unity, increasing mutual mistrust and fueling calls for Kurdish independence.
Sources told Rudaw that Maliki has been uncomfortable about the KRG’s lack of response to an apparent agreement during a December 25 meeting with Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.
“Maliki told Kurdish MPs in Baghdad that Barzani told him he would respond to the agreement within two days, but now several weeks have passed without getting any reply from Erbil,” according to a knowledgeable source.
In a meeting with foreign diplomats and representatives from international organizations in Kurdistan on Saturday, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani expressed hope that Baghdad and Erbil would resolve pending issues, including over oil and gas.
“There has been an exchange of visits, and currently talks are underway between the two sides to reach agreement on the outstanding issues, including Article 140 regarding funding for the Peshmarga forces and on oil and gas,” Barzani said.
“We are ready to play a role in addressing the challenges facing Iraq, but it is important that no side is marginalized in the political process,” he added.
A statement from Barzani’s office said that last week that US Vice President Joe Biden spoke to him by telephone after the KRG declared that oil exports had begun. The oil issue was one of the topics discussed, the statement added.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Shahristani summoned Turkey's chargé d'affaires Efe Ceylan over the crude exports. "Iraq considers the export of oil through its international borders without government approval as a violation," Shahristani said after meeting the Turkish diplomat.
On Friday, Iraq’s oil ministry strongly denounced KRG’s announcement of oil exports and expressed “deep regret” and “astonishment.” It called the move a “flagrant violation of the Iraqi constitution.”
Furthermore, Maliki warned that, "Turkey must not interfere in an issue that harms Iraqi sovereignty."
Until now, Ankara has remained silent about the Iraqi accusations and increasing tensions between KRG and Baghdad. But Turkish officials continue to contend that oil exports from the northern Iraqi enclave are constitutional and do not violate any agreements between Ankara and Baghdad.
Last week, the KRG’s Ministry of Natural Resources said it would export two million barrels of crude oil by the end of January 2014 and is targeting sales of 10-12 million barrels for the month of December 2014.
