Annulling Referendum Results Baghdad’s Only Condition for Talks with KRG: Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Baghdad has not imposed any preconditions for a dialogue with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) other than the cancellation of the referendum’s results, the Iraqi government’s spokesperson said.
Saad Hadithi was quoted on Thursday by al-Sabah newspaper as saying that the Federal government of Iraq “had not set any precondition for entering negotiations” with Erbil except for “the annulment of referendum”.
He added that Baghdad wants to resolve its disputes with the KRG “on the basis of the Iraqi constitution.”
The comments came after a joint delegation from the ministries of Health and Education in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region went to Baghdad to discuss payment of employees’ salaries, the Erbil-based Kurdistan 24 news network reported.
The Iraqi government has said it took a number of decisions paving the way for dialogue with the KRG on disputed issues as there are signs of the autonomous region’s obedience to the law of the constitution.
Ihsan al-Shamri, an adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, said on his Facebook page recently that since “the KRG has accepted the constitution as an arbitrator, and is showing willingness to end the crisis amid disturbance in the region caused by the salaries’ issue, we have received messages regarding those developments, which led to adoption of some decisions”.
The Baghdad-based Iraqi News quoted Shamri as saying that those decisions include “(Baghdad’s) taking over of border crossings with Iran and Turkey and forming a special committee to regulate border crossings, customs and airports”.
The KRG has rejected handing over the autonomous region’s border management to the Iraqi federal cabinet, saying that the law instead stresses joint administration.
“Instructions and laws emphasize on joint administration and oversight on border crossings, and the region is prepared to discuss matters related to airports and border crossings,” Safeen Dizayee, a spokesperson of the Kurdish government, told Iraqi website Alghad Press.
A crisis erupted between Baghdad and Erbil following the Kurdistan Region’s vote in September to secede from Iraq, a measure which Baghdad deemed unconstitutional, consequently taking penal economic measures that included an air embargo and a withholding of employee payments.
