
The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Nezhirvan Barzani, and the accompanying delegation arrived in Tehran on Saturday for an official visit to them by the Iranian government.
Foreign relations official Falah Mustapha said the delegation headed by Barzani in Tehran would discuss with Iranian President Hassan Rowhani and other officials the current situation in Iraq and the region and further promote relations between Erbil and Tehran.
A source familiar with the Kurdistan Regional Government has reported earlier in the day that the Prime Minister of the region, Nechirvan Barzani, had visited Baghdad and met with the head of the federal government Haider Abadi before leaving for the Iranian capital Tehran.
This is Barzani’s first visit since the start of the crisis with Baghdad after the referendum held in the Kurdistan region on 25 September last, and supported 93% of the voters independence from Iraq.
The Information Office of the Prime Minister Haider al-Abbadi had confirmed earlier in the day that the latter met with a delegation from the Kurdistan Region, headed by the Prime Minister of the region, Najirvan Barzani and the membership of his deputy, Qubad Talabani and Vice-President of the Presidency of the Territory Fuad Hussein.
The office said in a statement today that “during the meeting discussed the latest political and security situation and resolve the problems between the federal government and the region according to the Constitution.”
The statement added that “Abadi stressed the unity and sovereignty of Iraq and that the citizens of the region part of the Iraqi people and the importance of the re-activation of all federal authorities in the region, including border crossings and airports.”
According to the statement, Abbadi “pointed to the continued work of the committees concerned with the opening of airports after the completion of all procedures to return the full federal authorities to them,” noting that “the international border must be under federal control as one of the exclusive powers of the federal authority.”
The statement added that “Abbadi stressed the position of the government to adhere to the boundaries of the region stipulated by the Constitution, indicating the importance of delivering oil extracted to the federal authorities and be the export of oil exclusively by the federal government through the company Sumo.”
The office concluded his statement by saying that Abadi “stressed the importance of completing the work of the committees that review the salaries of the staff of the region and speed up the launch and ensure access to eligible employees and be subject to the control of the Federal Audit Bureau.”