PM Barzani discusses Erbil-Baghdad differences with Hochstein

Shafaq News / The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, spoke by phone today with US Special Presidential Coordinator, Amos Hochstein.

A statement by Barzani's office said that the call, "reflected on our visit to Baghdad last week to signal KRG’s readiness to address the 18-year-old disputes between Erbil and Baghdad. I reaffirmed my personal support to the new Iraqi Prime Minister, in particular his efforts to pass a federal hydrocarbons law in line with the Iraqi Constitution. I stressed that until then the KRG welcomes coordination with Baghdad to continue production and development of its energy sector."

It quoted the Prime Minister saying, "In the exchange, Special Presidential Coordinator Hochstein also shared his assessment of his visit to Erbil and Baghdad this week. We both agreed on the need to remove all obstacles to the development of the energy sector."

"We also discussed Kurdistan Region-US relations and emphasized the importance of more American trade and investment in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq", the statement concluded.