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Russia Delivers Advanced MiG-29 Fighter Jets to Assad Regime

A Russian Air Force cargo plane landing at the Hmeimim Air Force Base near the city of Latakia, AP file photo
A Russian Air Force cargo plane landing at the Hmeimim Air Force Base near the city of Latakia, AP file photo
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Russia Delivers Advanced MiG-29 Fighter Jets to Assad Regime

A Russian Air Force cargo plane landing at the Hmeimim Air Force Base near the city of Latakia, AP file photo
A Russian Air Force cargo plane landing at the Hmeimim Air Force Base near the city of Latakia, AP file photo

Russia has delivered advanced MiG-29 jet fighters to the Assad regime, in a move to reassure Damascus.

The delivery came a day after President Vladimir Putin ordered talks to expand Moscow’s military position in Syria.

Syria's official news agency SANA, citing a military source, said the new fighter jets were handed over to the Syrian army during a ceremony at Hmeimim airbase in the western coastal province of Latakia on Saturday.

“The warplanes flew from Hmeimim to their deployment areas in Syrian airbases,” the source said.

According to the source, the newly-received fighter jets are "more effective" than their previous generation.

“As of June 1, 2020, Syrian pilots will begin to carry out missions on those planes in Syrian airspace,” the source said.

Putin had asked the defense and foreign ministries to work with Damascus to sign an additional protocol that would expand the Russian military presence in Syria under an agreement signed in 2015.

In other news, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act goes into effect in mid-June, taking US sanctions against supporters of the Assad regime in Tehran and Moscow to a whole new level. The bill does not only target Russian efforts to keep the regime in power, but also affects Moscow’s ambitious post-war economic plans in Syria.

In Syria, the public is divided on how to perceive the bill, but many are concerned with its repercussions on the living conditions of Syrians.

Leaders in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES), also known as Rojava, believe that the Act will exempt US allies in Syria from the sanctions.

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‘Oil-for-Salaries’ Deal Ends Dispute Between Baghdad and Erbil

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
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‘Oil-for-Salaries’ Deal Ends Dispute Between Baghdad and Erbil

Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)
Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani stressed the need to put an end to attacks on the region, particularly targeting oil fields (Reuters)

The Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) reached a landmark agreement on Thursday that ends a years-long dispute over oil revenues and public sector salaries.

The deal, announced following an emergency cabinet meeting in Baghdad, covers oil production handover, non-oil revenue sharing, and the resumption of salary payments to KRG employees beginning with May 2025.

According to a government statement, the agreement was based on a recommendation by a ministerial committee and aligned with Kurdistan’s regional cabinet decision No. 285, issued on July 16.

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani confirmed the breakthrough, stating that the federal government had approved a “mutual understanding regarding salaries and the region’s financial entitlements.”

Under the terms of the deal, the KRG will hand over all crude oil production - currently 280,000 barrels per day (bpd) - to Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO), with the exception of 50,000 bpd reserved for domestic consumption. This marks the first such commitment in more than two years, during which oil exports were suspended amid ongoing disputes and recent drone strikes targeting northern oilfields operated mostly by US firms.

In return, the federal Ministry of Finance will pay $16 per barrel, in cash or in kind, to cover production costs. Revenues from locally consumed oil derivatives will go to the federal treasury after deducting production and transport expenses.

On non-oil revenues, the KRG will transfer an initial 120 billion Iraqi dinars (approx. $92 million) to the federal finance ministry, representing an estimate of Baghdad’s share for May. A joint audit team from both governments will verify and finalize the figures within two weeks.

To resolve long-standing disputes over public salaries, a new joint committee will oversee the localization of KRG employee payrolls, in line with a ruling from the Federal Supreme Court. The committee is expected to complete its work within three months.

As part of the agreement’s first phase, the federal government will begin disbursing May salaries following confirmation from SOMO that the agreed oil volumes have been received.