ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani received the British and French ambassadors to Iraq on Tuesday to discuss a recent tripartite agreement between Erbil, Baghdad, and international oil firms and underscore the importance of ensuring the provision of the Region’s financial entitlements.

The meeting with Britain’s Irfan Siddiq emphasized the need to ensure that the Kurdistan Region’s financial dues and constitutional rights are met within the provisions of the Iraqi constitution, while hailing the resumption of long-stalled Kurdish oil exports to international markets after a costly halt, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). 

Exports of crude oil from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline resumed in late September after a 30-month halt, following the signing of a breakthrough agreement between Erbil, Baghdad, and international oil companies operating in the Region.

The pair viewed "with importance the signing of the trilateral agreement," hoping that the move will serve as the basis of the passage of an oil and gas law in the Iraqi parliament's next term, the KRG said in a statement.

The Kurdistan Region’s oil exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan port had been halted since March 2023, when a Paris-based arbitration court ruled that Ankara had breached a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to start selling oil independently in 2014, awarding the case to Baghdad.

The halt in oil exports, compounded by disagreements between the Iraqi government and the KRG over the mechanism of sharing the Kurdistan Region's oil revenues, had led to a budgetary dispute, with Iraq repeatedly refusing to fund the salaries of the Kurdistan Region's civil servants, exacerbating the public sector workers’ dire financial situation. 

Siddiq and Barzani both agreed that "the issue of salaries and the Kurdistan Region's financial entitlements must be resolved from the root, and the subject must not be made political," according to the statement. 

Barzani also met with French Ambassador to Iraq Patrick Durel, discussing “the general situation in Iraq and the region and the resolution of issues between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government,” according to a separate KRG statement. 

During the meeting, Barzani stressed that Erbil seeks “the best relations” with Baghdad in accordance with the constitution and “the federal status of the Kurdistan Region,” voicing hope that the recent tripartite oil deal “will pave the way for resolving issues between the two sides.” 

Durel hailed Barzani’s cabinet for enacting reform, praising the KRG’s commitment to combating climate change, the statement added.

An upcoming visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, scheduled for December, was also discussed.  

The Kurdistan Region's civil servants have yet to receive their salaries for August and September as of the time of writing this article, despite the resumption of oil exports and a temporary settlement being reached on the mechanism of sharing domestic revenues until a final agreement is found.