By Omar Sattar for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Oil, budgets, Kirkuk still nag Baghdad-Erbil relations
Meetings last month between representatives of Iraq’s federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil failed to produce any clear resolutions of their ongoing differences.
A high-level delegation from the Baghdad government visited Erbil on July 25 for talks with the newly elected government there. Discussions focused on KRG oil exports, its share of the federal budget and control of disputed, oil-rich Kirkuk.
The Baghdad representatives included Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban and Finance Minister Fouad Hussein, national security adviser Faleh al-Fayadh and the director of the prime minister’s office, Mohammed al-Hashemi.