ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Political parties in the Kurdistan Region came together on Saturday upon an invitation by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to discuss Erbil’s ongoing issues with Baghdad, particularly the recent decision by the Iraqi finance ministry to suspend funds for the Region’s civil servant salaries.

The meeting is in response to a letter addressed to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday, where Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami said that they are “unable to continue funding the Region.”

The letter argued that the Region has exceeded its 12.67 percent of the annual budget, totaling 13.5 trillion dinars. Sami claimed that from 2023 until April 2025, the Kurdistan Region has handed over only 598.5 billion dinars out of its total oil and non-oil combined revenues of 19.9 trillion dinars.

Representatives from 38 Kurdish parties were in attendance for Saturday’s meeting, including the KDP, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), an arm of the Gorran Movement, Kurdistan Toilers Party, the Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party, the Communist Party of Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Islamic Movement.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, a Kurd and representative of the KDP, was also present in the meeting.

The Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the Kurdistan Justice Group, the New Generation Movement, The People's Front, the National Stance (Halwest) Movement, and certain arms in the Gorran movement refused to participate in the meeting on the other hand, stating that such meetings should only be held in the parliament building.

The meeting was held in the KDP politburo in Erbil’s Pirmam.

The KDP on Thursday accused Iraq of “violating the Kurdistan Region's constitutional rights,” and warned of a “serious stance” should the financial rights of the Region not be disbursed before Eid al-Adha, June 6.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the Kurdish blocs in the Iraqi parliament said they were “shocked and saddened” by the decision, describing the move as a “political attack,” while demanding a permanent solution to the salary issues.

The fair distribution of the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget has long been a point of contention between Erbil and Baghdad.

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.