ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said on Thursday that attacks on the region’s natural gas pipeline were unacceptable and Erbil’s deals with the outside world were a domestic affair. Barzani’s comments came hours after the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), an organization affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), declared that it was against Kurdistan Region’s natural gas exports to Turkey. “We do not tolerate their interference in our affairs,” the Kurdish prime minister told Rudaw. “It’s a domestic KRG affair.” “[The attacks] are not good for either of us,” he added. “It is the matter of people’s livelihood.” Prime Minister Barzani who briefed reporters outside a leadership meeting of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), also dismissed comments from his Iraqi counterpart Haider Abadi who claimed that he could provide salaries of Kurdish civil servants if Erbil handed over its oil productions. “If Baghdad sends the Kurdistan Region its share of the budget we do not hesitate to hand over their share of the oil,” said Barzani. “But that is just political maneuvering,” he said. Speaking on state TV earlier this week Iraqi PM Abadi said that Baghdad was capable of paying Kurdistan Region’s monthly salaries if Erbil handed to Baghdad its oil productions. Barzani said at the same press conference that his government has started its own financial reforms and budget redrawing based on current priorities. “We plan the budge based on our priorities and the one for now is ISIS,” he said. “We have a long border with them that’s why we need to give priority to that.” The prime minister added that all parties are on board with the reform process.
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