After visiting Iraqi Kurdistan earlier this week, a delegation of U.S. Congress Members have reiterated that the Iraqi federal government should pay the debt it owes to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), based on the budget sharing agreement reached in December.
In the meeting between the U.S. and Kurdish representatives, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani encouraged the U.S. delegation to play a more active role in settling the differences between Erbil and Baghdad. Although a budget sharing agreement was reached in December, the relationship has been tense as both oil export and budgetary commitments have not been fulfilled on either end.
Delegation to Meet with Iraqi Prime Minister
The U.S. delegation is set to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi this week, and the Kurdistan Regional Government expressed hope that the delegation would discuss issues ranging from budget sharing, to ISIS and humanitarian assistance.
The U.S. delegation also commended the role of the Peshmerga in countering the so-called Islamic State, and stressed that they would urge Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to increase efforts to spur further involvement for Sunni and Shiite Iraqis in the fight against ISIS.
The Iraqi Kurdistan region has been defending the front lines against ISIS for over a year, and has accommodated over one million internally displaced persons (IDP’s).
[Read more at the KRG Website]
