Negotiators, however, have not met face-to-face for several weeks while Baghdad reviews financial documents provided by Erbil. The two sides have not reached an agreement over the amount of money that Baghdad will provide or the duration of the arrangement.

In the meantime, the KRG is just weeks away from the August disbursement for public sector workers’ monthly salaries. Without an influx of cash from the federal government, it is unclear whether it will be able to pay them, NRT reported.

“The Council of Ministers emphasized that it will continue its plans and efforts to confront the financial crisis, especially providing financial benefits to pensioners, which is our priority,” a readout of the meeting said.

During the cabinet meeting, which was held over video conference because of coronavirus public health regulations, Barzani also addressed recent leadership-level meetings between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), characterizing them as positive.

The cabinet office’s statement added that Barzani praised ministers for appearing at sessions of the Kurdistan Parliament this week and thanked them for providing lawmakers with data and answering their questions.

Reporter’s code: 50101