Iraq: Erbil warns Baghdad it may sell oil 'on its own'
Sunday, 31 May 2015
The regional government in Erbil has the right to sell its own oil if Baghdad does not uphold its part of an oil agreement, the Iraqi Kurdish administration's parliament speaker said Saturday.
Speaker Yusif Muhammad Sadiq said that the Kurdish administration had alternatives if the central government continued not dispersing the share of the regional government from the federal budget.
"We prioritise our relations with Baghdad and maintain our loyalty to the mutual agreement. However, we have the legal right to sell our oil independently without consent from the central government, if they do not distribute our share from the budget and do not honour the agreement," Sadiq said.
The Iraqi Kurdish administration and the central government reached an oil agreement on Dec. 2, 2014, according to which Erbil could export oil in exchange for a share in Baghdad's budget.
in full: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/18951-iraq-erbil-warns-baghdad-it-may-sell-oil-on-its-own
