Iraqi PM makes historic visit to Kurdistan-Turkey border
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Thursday made a historic visit to an international border crossing within the territory of the Kurdistan Region as Erbil and Baghdad hammer out a new working relationship, one that includes sharing control over the borders and their revenues.
At the Ibrahim Khalil crossing with Turkey, Kadhimi investigated customs and tax procedures and “stressed the need to develop” Iraq’s only border point with Turkey, according to a statement from his office.
His inspection of the border point is the first such visit of an Iraqi prime minister in 17 years, tweeted Kadhimi’s spokesperson Ahmad Talal.
Since the establishment of the current Iraqi government after the US invasion of 2003, the Kurdistan Region has had control of its international borders with Turkey, Iran, and Syria. In mid-August, Baghdad and Erbil agreed to jointly manage these border crossings as part of a deal that saw the federal government sending 320 billion dinars ($268 million) per month for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to pay its civil servants.
They have reached an initial agreement for a 50-50 sharing of border revenue, Samir Hawrami, spokesperson for KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, told Rudaw last week.
Kadhimi’s visit to Erbil and the border “comes in the framework of efforts to bring about integration in all fields between the federal and Regional governments, including activating the work of border crossings,” stated his office.
A priority of Kadhimi’s cabinet “is to facilitate the movement of trade and remove all obstacles that hinder the development of the trade exchange process,” read the statement from his office.
Ibrahim Khalil is the only border crossing between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region used for trade. Baghdad also relies on it. Trade across the border amounts to around $10 billion annually, and both Turkey and Iraq have said they want to double it.
Relations between Baghdad and Ankara are tense after Turkey killed two Iraqi border guards in a drone strike on a meeting between the Iraqis and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Erbil province this summer.
Turkey has pursued the PKK within the Kurdistan Region for decades and this summer it waged intense air and ground campaigns. Ankara announced this week it had “successfully completed” its ground war near the border, but airstrikes continue and Turkey and Iran agreed this week to conduct joint operations against Kurdish groups they say threaten their security.
While Kadhimi was in the Kurdistan Region, Turkey shelled a village about 80 kilometres east of the Ibrahim Khalil border.
"The Turkish artillery shelled the village of Urmaniye at 5:15 pm with four mortars. Two of the mortars landed just 70 meters from a number of households," Sarbast Sabri, mayor of the Kani Masi sub-district, told Rudaw.
"The shelling did not cause any human losses, but sparked panic among villagers especially those people who had mortars land near their houses," he added.
Kadhimi’s visit to the Kurdistan Region, which began in Erbil, is the latest in a flurry of meetings to finalize oil and budget issues.
A delegation led by Qubad Talabani arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday, one of a series of visits to Baghdad beginning last month that mark the KRG's first time participating in drafting Iraq's annual budget. Last week, Nechirvan Barzani paid a visit to Baghdad, where he met with Kadhimi and a number of Iraqi leaders on the sidelines of a meeting with France's President Emmanuel Macron.
Relations between the two administrations appear to be warm. Kadhimi said in Ibrahim Khalil that the “positive atmosphere” he saw in Erbil “will serve the country and its people.”
His spokesperson Ahmad Talal told Rudaw they are "very optimistic that the talks will bear fruit.”
"We are stressing continued dialogue. Whenever there is dialogue no pending issue will remain pending forever. We will solve them on the basis of the constitution,” he said. "There is an agreement between Baghdad and the Region on resolving all the pending issues between them. We have already signed a three-month long [budget] deal. An agreement on the 2021 budget is in the making.”
The Kurdistan Region is heavily dependent on its share of the Iraqi budget and Kurdish officials have said they cannot pay civil servants without what it says is its fair share of federal government money.
After Ibrahim Khalil, Kadhimi visited the Qadiya camp in Duhok, housing Yezidis from Shingal. Camp residents told Rudaw that their top demand of Kadhimi is to help provide security so they can safely return home.
Talal described the state of the camps in the Kurdistan Region as "very good."
"It is apparent that the Kurdistan Region has spent large amounts of money to pay attention to the camps and provide them with services, not just to the Yezidi IDPs, but displaced persons from other ethnic groups of Iraq who fled persecution from the terrorist group [ISIS]," Talal added.
The Kurdistan Region is currently hosting nearly a million refugees and Iraqis displaced from their homes.
Kadhimi also met with survivors of Saddam Hussein’s genocidal Anfal campaign against Kurds, and laid a wreath at a cemetery for Saddam’s victims.
Additional reporting by Karwan Faidhi Dri
At the Ibrahim Khalil crossing with Turkey, Kadhimi investigated customs and tax procedures and “stressed the need to develop” Iraq’s only border point with Turkey, according to a statement from his office.
His inspection of the border point is the first such visit of an Iraqi prime minister in 17 years, tweeted Kadhimi’s spokesperson Ahmad Talal.
Since the establishment of the current Iraqi government after the US invasion of 2003, the Kurdistan Region has had control of its international borders with Turkey, Iran, and Syria. In mid-August, Baghdad and Erbil agreed to jointly manage these border crossings as part of a deal that saw the federal government sending 320 billion dinars ($268 million) per month for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to pay its civil servants.
They have reached an initial agreement for a 50-50 sharing of border revenue, Samir Hawrami, spokesperson for KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, told Rudaw last week.
Kadhimi’s visit to Erbil and the border “comes in the framework of efforts to bring about integration in all fields between the federal and Regional governments, including activating the work of border crossings,” stated his office.
A priority of Kadhimi’s cabinet “is to facilitate the movement of trade and remove all obstacles that hinder the development of the trade exchange process,” read the statement from his office.
Ibrahim Khalil is the only border crossing between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region used for trade. Baghdad also relies on it. Trade across the border amounts to around $10 billion annually, and both Turkey and Iraq have said they want to double it.
Relations between Baghdad and Ankara are tense after Turkey killed two Iraqi border guards in a drone strike on a meeting between the Iraqis and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Erbil province this summer.
Turkey has pursued the PKK within the Kurdistan Region for decades and this summer it waged intense air and ground campaigns. Ankara announced this week it had “successfully completed” its ground war near the border, but airstrikes continue and Turkey and Iran agreed this week to conduct joint operations against Kurdish groups they say threaten their security.
While Kadhimi was in the Kurdistan Region, Turkey shelled a village about 80 kilometres east of the Ibrahim Khalil border.
"The Turkish artillery shelled the village of Urmaniye at 5:15 pm with four mortars. Two of the mortars landed just 70 meters from a number of households," Sarbast Sabri, mayor of the Kani Masi sub-district, told Rudaw.
"The shelling did not cause any human losses, but sparked panic among villagers especially those people who had mortars land near their houses," he added.
Kadhimi’s visit to the Kurdistan Region, which began in Erbil, is the latest in a flurry of meetings to finalize oil and budget issues.
A delegation led by Qubad Talabani arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday, one of a series of visits to Baghdad beginning last month that mark the KRG's first time participating in drafting Iraq's annual budget. Last week, Nechirvan Barzani paid a visit to Baghdad, where he met with Kadhimi and a number of Iraqi leaders on the sidelines of a meeting with France's President Emmanuel Macron.
Relations between the two administrations appear to be warm. Kadhimi said in Ibrahim Khalil that the “positive atmosphere” he saw in Erbil “will serve the country and its people.”
His spokesperson Ahmad Talal told Rudaw they are "very optimistic that the talks will bear fruit.”
"We are stressing continued dialogue. Whenever there is dialogue no pending issue will remain pending forever. We will solve them on the basis of the constitution,” he said. "There is an agreement between Baghdad and the Region on resolving all the pending issues between them. We have already signed a three-month long [budget] deal. An agreement on the 2021 budget is in the making.”
The Kurdistan Region is heavily dependent on its share of the Iraqi budget and Kurdish officials have said they cannot pay civil servants without what it says is its fair share of federal government money.
After Ibrahim Khalil, Kadhimi visited the Qadiya camp in Duhok, housing Yezidis from Shingal. Camp residents told Rudaw that their top demand of Kadhimi is to help provide security so they can safely return home.
Talal described the state of the camps in the Kurdistan Region as "very good."
"It is apparent that the Kurdistan Region has spent large amounts of money to pay attention to the camps and provide them with services, not just to the Yezidi IDPs, but displaced persons from other ethnic groups of Iraq who fled persecution from the terrorist group [ISIS]," Talal added.
The Kurdistan Region is currently hosting nearly a million refugees and Iraqis displaced from their homes.
Kadhimi also met with survivors of Saddam Hussein’s genocidal Anfal campaign against Kurds, and laid a wreath at a cemetery for Saddam’s victims.
Iraqi PM Kadhimi on Thursday laid a wreath at a cemetery in Duhok for victims of Saddam Hussein's genocidal Anfal campaign against Kurds. pic.twitter.com/pmHwDTq5N1
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) September 10, 2020
Additional reporting by Karwan Faidhi Dri