Senior Kurdish officials on Sunday discussed with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani the ongoing talks between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Iraqi federal government over the resumption of oil exports and the payment of salaries.

On Sunday afternoon, President Masoud Barzani met with al-Mashhadani, in which they discussed disputes between the federal government and the KRG, as well as the decision to cut salaries of KRG employees.

According to the Barzani Headquarters readout “both sides stressed the need to resolve these issues within the framework of the constitution,” adding that the “the livelihoods of the region’s citizens should not be entangled in political rivalries or disputes between the federal and regional governments.”

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. They agreed that salary payments must not be politicized, and the people of Kurdistan should not bear the consequences of political disputes.https://t.co/ZN6aW3smz4

— Kurdistan Regional Government (@Kurdistan) July 6, 2025

KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also met with al-Mashhadani on Sunday. The meeting was also attended by Shakhawan Abdullah, Deputy Speaker of the Council of Representatives, and member of Parliament Ziyad Janabi, Head of the Council’s Integrity Committee.

According to the KRG readout, al-Mashhadani and KRG Prime Minister Barzani agreed “that salary payments must not be politicized or tied to broader disputes, and that public servants in the Kurdistan Region should not be made to bear the consequences of political disagreements, a treatment that has been deeply unjust toward the people of Kurdistan.”

Moreover, they underscored the need for a just and timely resolution of the salary issue and the disbursement of the Kurdistan Region’s dues.

“They discussed the importance of resolving outstanding issues between the KRG and the federal government, particularly public sector salaries and the Kurdistan Region’s rightful financial entitlements,” the KRG readout said, adding that they aim to reach a resolution in the coming days.

In a separate meeting, Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani also met with al-Mashhadani, in which “both sides agreed on the importance of reaching an appropriate solution to the salary issue of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants, especially at this critical stage.

“Regarding this, they expressed their hope and optimism about the efforts and the existence of a roadmap for resolving the issue and reiterated that resolving the problems with the Kurdistan Region is in the interest of the whole of Iraq,” the Kurdistan Region Presidency said in a readout.

Talks are ongoing to resume the Kurdistan Region’s halted oil exports via the State Organization for Marketing of Oil , suspended since 2023 after an international arbitration ruling, alongside discussions on releasing May and June salaries for public employees, after Iraq’s Ministry of Finance suspended salaries to KRG employees for this year in May.

President Nechirvan Barzani received Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani and his delegation. They discussed Erbil-Baghdad relations, stressing constitutional solutions, the resolution of salary issues in the Kurdistan Region, and Iraq’s upcoming electoral process. pic.twitter.com/TdjdarJeWz

— KRP Media (@MediaKRP) July 6, 2025

Last week, the KRG Council of Ministers emphasized they are awaiting the Iraqi federal government’s approval of a recent oil agreement reached with oil company representatives after days of talks that started on June 26 between international oil companies, Baghdad, and Erbil. It is expected that this week the Iraqi Council of Ministers will make a decision on the proposal.

Myles Caggins, spokesperson for the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan, which represents several oil companies in Kurdistan, told Kurdistan Chronicle that “reopening the Iraq-Turkey pipeline will benefit all Iraqi people; we are waiting for a decision from Baghdad.”