Iraq's Federal Government facing major challenges, Kurdistan Premier says
The Kurds are genuine partners in the political decision-making in Baghdad, and the Federal Government in Baghdad is facing major challenges that must be supported, North Iraq Kurdistan Region's Premier, Barham Saleh, has said on Thursday.
"The Kurds are genuine partners in the polical decision-making and we must not forget that the initiative of Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani put an end to the crisis of the formation of the new Iraqi government," Saleh told the Saudi al-Sharq al-Awsat Newspaper on Thursday.
"We are not talking as Kurds, but as Iraqis living within a constitutional federal democratic Iraq, sharing in its leadership and reconstruction.
"We have to be careful to not return to the past, when the policies of marginalization and injustice were practiced against each other," he stressed.
The Baghdad Federal Government "is facing major challenges and must be supported, in order to help it achieve success, as failure is rejected," he added.
Regarding his recent visit to Iran, Barham Saleh said "the three-day visit had taken place in coordination with Iraq's Foreign Ministry, stemming from Iraq's keenness to deepen its regional relations and to protect the political and economic interests between our two peoples, in such a way that respects the sovereignty of both countries."
"We have a political agreement within the process of the new government's formation and participation in it, and those agreements stem from the Iraqi Constitution," Premier Salah said when asked about the suspended dossiers between Kurdistan Region and the Baghdad Federal Government.
"We are waiting for the issuance of the new Oil & Gas Law in the nearest future," he said, adding that
"keeping those dossier suspended shall create a problem for all Iraqis, deprive the Iraqi economy from its revenues, whilst we are in strong need for those revenues to boost the economic conditions to serve the Iraqi citizens and build up the country," he concluded.
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidZA...Premier%20says