Erbil presses Baghdad to disburse salaries following oil agreement
Shafaq News - Erbil
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday urged the federal government in Baghdad to immediately release public sector salaries, saying Erbil has fulfilled its commitments under the recently implemented tripartite oil agreement.
The deal—between Baghdad, Erbil, and producing companies—places the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) in charge of Kurdistan’s international sales while guaranteeing the Region a defined share of federal transfers. The deal ended a two-and-a-half-year export freeze and restarted flows through the Fish Khabur–Ceyhan route.
Read more: Pipe dream or partnership? Iraq’s oil restart tests a fragile federal compact
According to a statement, the KRG held its weekly cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, which focused on the Region’s financial situation and the unpaid salaries for August and September.
During the meeting, the cabinet instructed the Kurdish Ministry of Finance to issue binding directives confirming the Region’s commitment to transfer its share of non-oil revenues to the federal treasury — a mandatory condition the KRG says will remove Baghdad’s cited pretext for withholding salary payments. SOMO has marketed more than three million barrels of Kurdish crude since exports resumed, the KRG said.
Read more: Kurdistan’s salaries: A lingering injustice beyond numbers
With the tripartite framework in operation, the KRG confirmed there is no justification for further delays and called on the federal Ministry of Finance to release the Region’s financial entitlements immediately.
