Barzani’s foreign policy advisor Falah Mustafa stated ahead of the visit that the meetings would focus on finding ways to resolve the outstanding disagreements between Baghdad and Erbil.

Following his meeting with Kadhimi, Barzani said that he hoped the passage of the 2021 Federal Budget Law would pave the way for a more stable relationship between the two governments, NRT reported.

It remains to be seen if the budget deal will be implemented however, with memories still fresh about the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) immediate abrogation of the 2019 budget law by refusing to send oil to Baghdad for export.

In a statement, Kadhimi emphasized this aspect, saying that he hoped that the “budget law will be implemented accordingly and resources distributed in a just way.”

Arguing that the Kurdistan Region would work with all relevant parties in Iraq, Barzani said that Erbil was “ready to solve” all disagreements with Baghdad “on the basis of the constitution and within the federal system.”

One of those areas is greater security cooperation against Islamic State (ISIS) remnants, particularly those operating in the security vacuum in the disputed areas between the lines held by the Peshmerga and the Iraqi Security Forces.

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