ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said on Thursday that the Kurdistan Region’s relations with the federal government during his short tenure have been the “best” since nearly two decades ago.
“Our ties with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq during this government was the best since 2003, and we are proud of this relationship. The tensions were few and we had many initiatives,” Kadhimi said during a cabinet meeting in the capital city of Baghdad.
Disputes over oil and budget as well as control over areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad have been among the main factors behind both governments’ tensions in the last decade. Kurdish leaders had previously used their political influence in the country to prevent prime ministers from keeping their positions.
During Nouri al-Maliki’s second term, who served from 2006 to 2014 as the premiere of the country, Erbil-Baghdad relations became frosty and reached a point in the summer of 2014 that when Masoud Barzani, then president of the Region, offered to send in Peshmerga forces to protect Mosul from the Islamic State (ISIS) PM Maliki refused and the city fell.
Maliki, who sought more control over disputed areas, failed to guarantee the third term - thanks to pressure from Kurdish leadership. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, his successor, also had thorny relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) due to his efforts against the Region’s decision to export its oil independently.
The KRG’s determination to export oil independently was followed by the federal government’s decision to cut the Region’s budget share. This as well as the emergence of ISIS and dramatic drop in oil price put the KRG in a serious economic crisis. The Kurdish government has failed to pay its civil servants in full and on time since then.
However, with the appointment of Kadhimi as the new prime minister of Iraq in May 2020, the Kurdish leadership expressed support for him with the hope of building better relations with the federal government.
Kadhimi, who is seen as a politically independent figure, has been able to maintain the support of Kurdish major political parties since his inauguration. His decision to resume Kurdistan Region’s budget share in 2021 helped KRG’s economy improve and made it possible for Erbil to once again pay its civil servants in full.
When Kadhimi’s residency was attacked with drones early last month, Kurdish leadership were the first to offer support.
“Through dialogue and building elements of trust, we succeeded in crossing this tense relationship in the best possible way,” Kadhimi told his cabinet on Thursday.
Iraq held parliamentary elections on October 10. Negotiations to form a new cabinet are ongoing.
