ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and US envoy Tom Barrack on Tuesday stressed the importance of a “strong and unified” Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), with Barzani saying disputes with Baghdad must be resolved in accordance with the Iraqi Constitution.

Barzani traveled to Baghdad on Monday for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and other senior Iraqi political leaders on the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements and its share of the 2027 federal budget.

During a phone call with Barrack following the visit, Barzani said: “We agreed that the KRG must remain strong and unified, and that our disputes with the federal government must be resolved in accordance with the Iraqi Constitution.” 

“Unity for a strong KRG is a critical component of a strong and stable Iraq,” Barrack wrote in response to the premier’s statement on X.

The call came amid renewed political tensions in the Kurdistan Region following the reconvening of the Region’s parliament on Wednesday and the election of its presidency board, resuming proceedings from its first session in 2024 after a two-year hiatus. 

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), one of the Region’s two largest parties, participated in the session, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) boycotted it. A day later, PUK leader Bafel Talabani announced that the party would withdraw from the KRG and revealed plans for a potential separate government.

On Monday, President Masoud Barzani, leader of the KDP, called on the PUK to sit down with his party and resolve their differences.

“Everyone must bear in mind that the interest of the people of Kurdistan is greater than every other interest and objective,” President Barzani said, calling on other political parties to take part in the political process and help form a broad-based government.

In his statement following the call with Barrack, Prime Minister Barzani said the two had “welcomed today's progress with Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and his team on the federal budget law, and we look forward to finalizing an agreement on oil and gas.”

A major point of contention in the proposed 2027 federal budget is the Kurdistan Region’s allocation. The initial draft sets its share at 12.68 percent, while the KRG says its allocation should reflect its share of Iraq’s population, which it puts at 14.14 percent. 

The timely payment of public-sector salaries has also remained an issue, with the Kurdistan Region frequently facing delays in receiving federal allocations for salaries.

During his meeting with Zaidi, Barzani stressed the importance of securing the Kurdistan Region’s share of the 2027 federal budget “fairly,” in accordance with the Constitution and “with respect for the federal system and the constitutional entity of the Kurdistan Region,” according to a KRG statement.

Zaidi, meanwhile, expressed Baghdad’s “firm commitment” to ensuring the Kurdistan Region’s constitutional rights and resolving outstanding issues in a way that serves “the supreme national interest of all the people of Iraq,” according to a statement from his office.