Iraqi Kurdistan is confident it can soon find a compromise with Baghdad in a row over oil exports from the autonomous region via a new pipeline to Turkey, a spokesman said on Monday.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) last week said crude had begun to flow through its independent pipeline to Turkey, and that exports were on track to begin at the end of this month, rising in February and March.
In an interview with Reuters on Sunday, Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki threatened to cut Kurdistan’s 17 percent share of the federal budget if exports via the pipeline went ahead without central government consent.
A delegation led by Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani is due in Baghdad soon to discuss the issue, which stems from a fundamental, longstanding disagreement over how to manage Iraq’s resources and divide the proceeds.
KRG spokesman Safeen Dizayee said the Kurds were awaiting Baghdad’s response to several unspecified proposals, and were committed to an accord reached in the Iraqi capital on December 25. The Star informs.
“The framework was already agreed in Baghdad — it’s more a matter of the technicalities,” Dizayee told Reuters, adding he was optimistic and foresaw no major stumbling blocks. “It’s just a matter of sitting down and agreeing on it.”
