Speaker Deplores Lack of Political Compromise in Iraqi Kurdistan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Speaker of the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament cited personal interests, disputes about the post of presidency, and lack of transparency about oil and gas revenues as the main stumbling blocks to political compromise by different political factions in the semi-autonomous region.
In an interview with the Tasnim News Agency, Yousif Muhammed said “personal and party interests” have hindered a comprehensive political compromise in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region.
Two major problems need to be addressed fundamentally in Iraq’s Kurdistan to pave the way for political reforms and progress, the speaker said, calling for “principled, democratic and legal” settlement of differences over the post of presidency.
He also stressed the need for a mechanism for transparency about the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas revenues.
Criticizing the region’s reliance on the sale of oil and gas, Muhammed said it would make the government opt for foreign loans to keep its economy going.
A war against Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group that invaded Iraq in summer 2014 has affected the Kurdistan Region like other parts of the country. A stagnant economy and the influx of internally displaced families from war-hit areas have beset the Kurdistan Region.
