ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani said Thursday that the way Baghdad treats the Kurdistan Region regarding civil servant salaries is “no longer acceptable” and added, “It is time to speak very clearly to Baghdad” on the matter at hand.

The Iraqi government continues to delay paying the salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants despite the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announcing in February that it had reached an agreement with the Iraqi federal government to finance the salary payments for the entirety of 2025 "without any issues.”

“I do not think that without resorting to the constitution, Iraq’s situation will stabilize,” Barzani said. "I expected the current Iraqi officials to defend the rights of the Kurdistan people, not cut salaries."

"We want Iraq to return to the principle of partnership, equality, and agreement,” he said.

Iraq should not play this "dirty game" with the people of Kurdistan, Barzani continued.

President Barzani accused some internal parties of creating obstacles to the payment of salaries to the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants.

Salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants and the Region’s share of the federal budget have long been a point of contention between the federal and regional governments.

Years of conflict and unresolved issues between Erbil and Baghdad, and economic sanctions and pressure on Erbil by federal authorities, have pushed employees in the Region to live from paycheck to paycheck.

In January, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani led an irregular meeting of the Council of Ministers with Kurdish ministers in the federal government and heads of parliamentary blocs in the Iraqi parliament, aimed at discussing the next steps for the Kurdish representation in the political process in Baghdad amid ongoing budget issues.

Barzani tasked the Kurdish federal ministers with informing Baghdad that Erbil needs guarantees that 2025 salaries will be paid without any issues and demands its full share of the budget starting in 2026, warning of a firmer stance otherwise.