US remains committed to helping Baghdad, Erbil build 'healthy relationship': Top official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The current US administration remains committed to helping the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government to build a “healthy relationship,” the top US official on Iran and Iraq said during the Erbil forum on Wednesday.

"Our administration remains committed to helping the federal government and the KRG built a healthy relationship in accordance with our partnership," Jennifer Gavito, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iran, Iraq, and Public Diplomacy said. 

"We have a lot of work that we can do together,” she added, noting the challenges that lie ahead. 

Gavito also reiterated that the US remains committed to working with the Iraqi security forces and the Peshmerga “for the enduring defeat of ISIS [Islamic State].”

She spoke of steps being taken to ensure that US-Iraqi cooperation continues for at least another decade, echoing similar comments from other US officials.

The budget has been a frequent point of contention between Erbil and Baghdad, especially after the Kurdistan Region's decision to sell its oil through Turkey. Almost two years after Iraq passed its last budget law, Erbil and Baghdad remain in disagreement over several key issues. Kurdish government delegations have traveled to Baghdad on several occasions to reach common ground with the Iraqi government, however, they have yet to reach a resolution on all disagreements.

The Region has over the past year been rocked by two waves of major Iraqi Federal Supreme Court rulings against its finances, with the top court first ruling last February against the Region’s ability to administer its oil and gas sector and almost a year later in January ruling against the payment of the Region’s financial entitlements to Baghdad, claiming it violates the 2021 Iraqi Budget Law.

The US ambassador to Iraq last week praised the KRG’s delegation latest visit to Baghdad, adding that the resolution of issues serves Iraq’s national interest and regional stability.

ISIS seized control of swaths of land in Iraq in 2014. It was declared territorially defeated in 2017, but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces. Peshmerga officials have blamed the deadly ISIS attacks on a lack of coordination between them and Iraqi forces in the disputed areas.

With regards to Chinese influence in Iraq, Gavito recognized that cooperation in terms of trade between Beijing and Baghdad is greater than with Washington.

To describe China's relations with Iraq and the Middle East as "transactional" would not be accurate. A better description would be "pragmatic," Shaojin Chai from the University of Sharjah added.

The relationship between Iraq and China is mainly economic, with the predominant focus being on energy given that Baghdad is one of the main oil suppliers, according to Chai.