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Iraqi MP: Maliki, Barzani Close to Solving Oil Dispute

Rapport between Baghdad and Erbil seems relatively warm as the two governments continue to settle oil disputes.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (R) and Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani (L) talk as they hold a joint news conference in Baghdad, July 7, 2013. Barzani visited Baghdad on Sunday for the first time in more than two years, in a symbolic step to resolve disputes between the central government and the autonomous region over land and oil. The visit follows an equally rare trip by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who met Barzani in Kurdistan last month, breaking ice between leaders who have repeated

MPs from the ruling State of Law Coalition and the Kurdistan Alliance confirmed the presence of positive vibes between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil regarding the possibility of passing the Oil and Gas Law, which governs the management of oil wealth in the country. The law is supposed to be passed during the current legislative session, which ends in early 2014. However, the MPs preferred to maintain discretion regarding information on the final draft of the law.

A high-ranking source in the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told Al-Monitor that “Prime Minister Maliki and KRG President Massoud Barzani discussed during the latter’s latest visit to Baghdad an amended draft of the Oil and Gas Law and agreed on showing it to their partners, so that it can soon be passed in the Iraqi parliament, before the current legislative session ends in early 2014.”

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