The day after it announced it was cutting salaries for many public sector workers, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Council of Ministers discussed the ongoing budget negotiations with Baghdad during a virtual conference on Monday, June 22.

In a statement released following the meeting online, the KRG PM Masrour Barzani said that his government was ready resolve its disputes with the federal government in accordance with the constitution and conclude a comprehensive agreement.

Two delegations of senior officials Kurdistan Region visited Baghdad earlier this spring to negotiate an agreement, but were unsuccessful. As a result, the two sides missed a 30-day deadline to finalize an agreement that expired on Friday.

In late April, the federal government ran out of patience with the KRG’s refusal to abide by the terms of the 2019 Federal Budget Law, which mandated that Erbil send 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Baghdad for export, and stopped all transfers, except for a one-time 400 billion Iraqi dinar infusion to grease negotiations designed to reach a comprehensive agreement.

Pressed by a massive budget shortfall, on Sunday the KRG decided to cut 21 percent of the salaries of the employees in the Kurdistan Region who earn more than 300,000 Iraqi dinars.

The announcement came as Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani wrapped up a two-day visit to Baghdad where he met with senior government and party officials to discuss the negotiations.

Barzani arrived in Baghdad on June 20th. During his two days stay in the Iraqi capital, he met with the Iraqi president, government and parliament leaders and the leaders of the political parties and movements in the Iraq.

In meetings with government and party officials in Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani stressed on the shared nature of issues and responsibilities with all Iraqis, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Presidency. “We all have a common destiny, and the issues of Iraq and the Kurdistan region are all Iraqis.”

The president of the Kurdish region pointed out that after years of conflict and problems in the Erbil-Baghdad relations, “we must not return to the past, but now it is the time to reach a common understanding and a comprehensive and satisfactory agreement between the two sides. The result is stability, justice and progress in the present and the future. We have to resolve all differences.”

Reporter’s code: 50101