The United States has urged Baghdad and Erbil “to resolve their issues through constructive dialogue consistent with their constitutional responsibilities” after rising tension over the payment of salaries in the Kurdistan region.
Tensions have escalated between Iraq’s central government in Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdish region in the country’s north in a long-running dispute over the sharing of oil revenues.
The central government has accused the Kurdish regional authorities of making illegal deals and facilitating oil smuggling. Baghdad cut off funding for public sector salaries in the Kurdish region ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. Kurdish authorities called the move “collective punishment” and threatened to retaliate.
“Resolving the salaries issue quickly sends a signal that Iraq is creating an environment in which US companies would want to invest,” US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Tuesday.
“Successful resolution would also send a positive signal on broader cooperation for the benefit of all Iraqis, such as reopening the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline and additional energy exploration, including with US companies,” Bruce said.
“US support for a strong and resilient Iraqi Kurdistan Region remains a crucial element of our relationship with Iraq,” she added.
Her remarks, which were seen as supportive of Baghdad, came as Sulaymaniyah - a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region – witnessed demonstrations on Wednesday over the delay in the payment of public sector salaries.
Employees in several departments announced an open-ended strike, saying they will not return to work unless the authorities pay them their wages.
The employees called on Erbil and the Baghdad government to assume their legal and humanitarian responsibilities, saying their living conditions require action.
