Committee to resolve Iraqi-Kurdish disputes

Committee to resolve Iraqi-Kurdish disputes

Wednesday, September 8th 2010 9:57 AM



Baghdad, Sept. 8 (AKnews) - The Iraqi government has formed a committee to discuss its numerous disputes with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), an economic adviser to the Iraqi government said on Tuesday.

Salam Yaseen told AKnews that the committee will discuss a range of issues with the Kurds including the oil and gas exports by the KRG that recently caused uproar in Baghdad.

The Kurdish and Iraqi governments have had deep disagreements for years over the management and control of oil resources in the country’s northern Kurdistan Region.

Recently disputes took another turn when the KRG announced signing a deal with the German RWE utility company to export gas to Europe.

He said the committee will soon start its work to resolve the differences over KRG’s gas exports.

Meanwhile, Iraq’s deputy oil minister told AKnews that so far oil and gas disputes between the KRG and Iraqi government have remained unresolved.

Assem Jihad said improving the relations between the KRG and Iraqi government will help increase Iraq’s crude oil exports.

The Iraqi government had already said some regional countries were trying to “complicate” the relations between the Kurdish government and Baghdad.

The Iraqi government has frequently objected to the oil and gas contracts between the Kurdish regional government and foreign firms saying it is a violation of the Iraqi constitution. But, Kurds insist that their contracts are constitutionally valid.


http://www.aknews.com/en/aknews/2/180061