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Kurdistan
US Ambassador to Iraq Matthew Tueller (left) and Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil on February 16, 2022. Photo: Handout/Barzani’s office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani received the US ambassador to Iraq on Wednesday, discussing pressing issues, especially Tuesday’s ruling by Iraq’s federal court against the Region’s independence in the oil and gas sector, according to a statement by Barzani’s office.
Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court on Tuesday found the Oil and Gas Law of the Kurdistan Regional Government No. (22) of 2007 to be “unconstitutional,” and therefore struck down the legal basis for the independence of the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas sector.
The decision has been condemned by Kurdistan Region’s ruling parties as well as top officials, including President Barzani who warned in the early hours of Wednesday morning that the ruling could further complicate Erbil-Baghdad disputes.
The statement from Barzani’s office said the meeting between him and the US Ambassador to Iraq, Matthew Tueller, “covered a wide range of issues including the latest political developments in the country, particularly following the recent ruling of the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq regarding oil and gas sectors in the Kurdistan Region.”
“The President also clarified that the Kurdistan Region has always demonstrated its readiness to solve the problems with the Iraqi Federal Government on the basis of the constitution, emphasizing that such measures will not help stability in the country, and that all sides should seek solutions and preserve stability,” it added.
@IKRPresident Nechirvan Barzani and US Ambassador Matthew Tueller discussed pressing issues in Erbil today; esp. the recent ruling of Supreme Court of #Iraq Re: oil & gas sectors in #IKR; reiterated the importance of stability.@USEmbBaghdad pic.twitter.com/ye45j2Q0zZ
— KRP Media (@MediaKRP) February 16, 2022
The office did not mention if the US diplomat commented on the ruling.
The Iraqi Council of Ministers convened on Wednesday, tasking the oil ministry to “communicate and coordinate the Kurdistan Regional Government as well as companies and countries concerned in order to prepare mechanisms and steps to manage this dossier in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and the high national interests,” according to a statement by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s office.
Kadhimi’s cabinet, which is almost two years old, has enjoyed good relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the court’s ruling is based on a 2012 case filed by the then oil ministry.
The ruling comes as political parties in Iraq continue the process of forming a new government following the country’s October 10 parliamentary elections. The Region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has struck a deal with the largest Shiite and Sunni political blocs to lead the next government. It is not clear how the top court’s decision will affect the process of government formation and the alliance between the three parties.
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