Through the ratification of the Iraqi Public Budget Law for the year 2013 in parliament based on the principle of "majority" rather than "consensus" — amid a Kurdish boycott of the parliamentary session — it seems that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has put difficult choices before the Iraqi Kurds, which may manifest in the coming days.

The Iraqi parliament approved on Thursday [March 7] the country’s general budget of $119 billion. The session was boycotted by Kurdish deputies, and had been delayed for weeks due to several disagreements, most notably over the payments of foreign oil companies operating in the Kurdistan region.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has asked the Iraqi government to pay the remaining dues of foreign companies, estimated at about $4.5 billion, while the federal government has only agreed to pay $750 million.

The dispute erupted in September 2012, after the Iraqi government paid around 650 billion Iraqi dinars [$558 million] out of 1 trillion [$858 million] owed, on condition that the Kurdistan region would produce 250,000 barrels of oil daily. Payment of the remaining dues was delayed, with the Iraqi government providing various excuses, prompting the Kurdistan region to stop the export of oil from the region’s wells through the Turkish Ceyhan line.