Window on Westminster

Parliament is in its last week before the summer break but MPs from the all-party parliamentary group on the Kurdistan Region have been putting solidarity with Kurds on the agenda. As promised at the recent KRG reception, APPG Chairman Jason McCartney returned to the issue of funding the KRG and arming the Peshmerga. He asked the Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood this week to 'agree that the Baghdad Government must now fulfil their financial obligations to the Kurdistan Regional Government, so that they in turn can properly arm and fund the Peshmerga, who are fighting the terrorist threat of ISIL-Daesh in northern Iraq.'

The Minister paid tribute to McCartney's work in the Royal Air Force during the no-fly zone and his wealth of experience. He agreed that it is 'right to point out that there must be greater co-operation between Kurdistan and Baghdad. We very much encourage that; that is what I did in my last visit to Baghdad a week and a half ago and what I will do when I visit Kurdistan in the near future.'

Two other members of the APPG, Mary Glindon and Dave Anderson, this week tabled a Commons motion entitled Arms and the Kurds. The formal motion notes that the Kurdistan Regional Government has a 650 mile border with the self-styled Islamic State and has lost over 1200 Peshmerga soldiers, with 7000 injuries, since Isis attacked Kurdistan last August. It acknowledges that American and British airpower are vital to the continued defence of the Kurdistan Region, which also needs an increased and reliable supply of heavy weapons to defend itself.

The motion regrets that the federal government in Baghdad is effectively delaying if not formally denying such supplies by not responding to foreign governments that wish to supply such weapons. It then accuses the Baghdad government of failing to be transparent in the supplies that are reaching the Kurds and in explaining when shortfalls will be completed. In conclusion, it urges the UK and the US to ensure that arms supplies to the KRG are made expeditiously and directly so the Kurds can better defend themselves as a vital part of the international coalition against a genocidal and misogynist group.

Given that America and Britain have a lot on their hands in promoting the nuclear agreement with Iran there seems to be insufficient attention to the detail of the reliability of arms supplies to Kurdistan. I understand that, for instance, the KRG expected a batch of 50 weapons but only three items arrived with no explanation of what had happened to the rest. Two foreign governments contacted Baghdad to seek permission for other shipments. Their requests were not refused but Baghdad has not replied either. I cannot say if this is a result of chaos and incompetence or a stalling tactic. Either way, the KRG has been deprived of weapons that are desperately needed.

It also does nothing to encourage co-operation between Erbil and Baghdad in what should be a united and concerted struggle against Daesh. The refusal of Baghdad to operate a binational and federal approach has also been seen in its consistent underpayment of budget entitlements to Erbil since the oil exports deal was concluded last December, following a complete blockade last year of Kurdistan by Maliki. The KRG has only received an estimated 40% of its entitlements and this has caused the KRG to embrace independent sales of oil since June and a drive to sell up to $5 billion in bonds to pay for investment projects. These have long been stalled and caused the economy to dip with rising unemployment and poverty, exacerbated by the costs of war and caring for nearly two million refugees and IDPs.

I hope that MPs' representations are picked up in Baghdad and on the other side of the Atlantic. Neither America nor the UK can issue instructions to Baghdad but the Kurds and their friends need to highlight these failings in the hope that the dinar will finally drop in Baghdad.

A reliable and lasting deal with Baghdad is still possible but in the meantime opinion-formers and decision-makers in the west should catch up with the sharp realities of the dysfunctional relationship between Baghdad and Erbil and help overcome it as part of seeking the widest unity against Daesh. Every day without insufficient co-operation between Baghdad and Erbil further consolidates Daesh's horrific rule and make it harder to dislodge them. There are also encouraging signs of greater realism in the UK on how to counter Daesh with news reports that David Cameron is looking to increase the role of British special forces troops in Iraq. Expect more attention to all these issues when Parliament returns in September.

* Gary Kent is the director of All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). He writes this column for Rudaw in a personal capacity. The address for the all-party group is appgkurdistan@gmail.com The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.