ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Former member of the Iraqi parliament Ala Talabani on Thursday told Rudaw that technical issues are not the only factors obstructing the resumption of the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports, but there are also political factors between Erbil and Baghdad as well.
Speaking to Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on the outskirts of the 2023 Iraq Forum taking place in Baghdad, Talabani, a former 3-time MP on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) ballot, offered her views on the factors behind the delay of implementing the oil deal between Erbil and Baghdad, as well as the continued postponement of the Iraqi top court’s ruling in regards to the constitutionality of the Kurdistan Region parliament’s extension.
“Some parties here [Baghdad] believe that the account must be directly supervised by the federal government, same as all the other oil incomes that enter the account through SOMO. At the same time the Kurdistan Regional Government also has the right to have authority over the income that enters the bank,” said Talabani.
“This is viewed by the federal government and the oil ministry as a technical issue, but I believe it is also a political issue,” she added.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on March 23 ruled in favor of Iraq against Turkey regarding exports of Kurdistan Region oil through Turkey’s Ceyhan port, saying Ankara had breached a 1973 pipeline agreement that obliges the Turkish government to abide by instructions issued by Iraq regarding the transport of crude oil exported from Iraq.
Exports from the Kurdistan Region have been halted since, and while Erbil and Baghdad reached an agreement in early April to resume the export process, there is still no oil flowing through the pipeline to Turkey.
In separate panels at the forum on Thursday, both Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani stressed that what was preventing the oil deal from being implemented was technical obstacles with Turkey.
In regard to the constitutionality of extending the Kurdistan Region parliament’s term, Talabani believed that the Federal Supreme Court was caught in a paradox and might resort to further delaying the process, instead of issuing a ruling that might result in severe political consequences either way.
Iraq’s top court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing against the constitutionality of the Kurdistan Region's parliament for the fifth time since December.
“I believe the Federal [Supreme] Court cannot, at this moment, rule that the Kurdistan Region’s parliament has been illegally extended, and at the same time cannot rule that it was a legal decision. It might continue stalling and postponing the ruling,” she said.
The former MP believed that if the court were to deem the extension legal, it would be setting a precedent which would allow lawmakers to argue for extending the term of Iraqi parliament in the future.
On the other hand, if the extension was deemed illegal, then the court would be contradicting an already set precedent in 2021, in which it ruled that no elected body should continue past its term.
Members of the Kurdistan Region’s parliament voted in October to extend the parliament's four-year term by another year, after failing to hold new elections because of disagreements over the electoral law and the electoral commission.
Speaking to Rudaw’s Nwenar Fatih on the outskirts of the 2023 Iraq Forum taking place in Baghdad, Talabani, a former 3-time MP on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) ballot, offered her views on the factors behind the delay of implementing the oil deal between Erbil and Baghdad, as well as the continued postponement of the Iraqi top court’s ruling in regards to the constitutionality of the Kurdistan Region parliament’s extension.
“Some parties here [Baghdad] believe that the account must be directly supervised by the federal government, same as all the other oil incomes that enter the account through SOMO. At the same time the Kurdistan Regional Government also has the right to have authority over the income that enters the bank,” said Talabani.
“This is viewed by the federal government and the oil ministry as a technical issue, but I believe it is also a political issue,” she added.
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on March 23 ruled in favor of Iraq against Turkey regarding exports of Kurdistan Region oil through Turkey’s Ceyhan port, saying Ankara had breached a 1973 pipeline agreement that obliges the Turkish government to abide by instructions issued by Iraq regarding the transport of crude oil exported from Iraq.
Exports from the Kurdistan Region have been halted since, and while Erbil and Baghdad reached an agreement in early April to resume the export process, there is still no oil flowing through the pipeline to Turkey.
In separate panels at the forum on Thursday, both Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani stressed that what was preventing the oil deal from being implemented was technical obstacles with Turkey.
In regard to the constitutionality of extending the Kurdistan Region parliament’s term, Talabani believed that the Federal Supreme Court was caught in a paradox and might resort to further delaying the process, instead of issuing a ruling that might result in severe political consequences either way.
Iraq’s top court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing against the constitutionality of the Kurdistan Region's parliament for the fifth time since December.
“I believe the Federal [Supreme] Court cannot, at this moment, rule that the Kurdistan Region’s parliament has been illegally extended, and at the same time cannot rule that it was a legal decision. It might continue stalling and postponing the ruling,” she said.
The former MP believed that if the court were to deem the extension legal, it would be setting a precedent which would allow lawmakers to argue for extending the term of Iraqi parliament in the future.
On the other hand, if the extension was deemed illegal, then the court would be contradicting an already set precedent in 2021, in which it ruled that no elected body should continue past its term.
Members of the Kurdistan Region’s parliament voted in October to extend the parliament's four-year term by another year, after failing to hold new elections because of disagreements over the electoral law and the electoral commission.
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