Qubad Talabani, the deputy prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), said Dec. 10 that the oil and budget deal recently signed with Baghdad would provide the Kurds with only 10-11% of the Iraqi budget, not 17% as has been reported. The funds are needed by Erbil to combat Islamic extremists, pay other expenses and care for 1.5 million Iraqis displaced by the fighting.
“We’ve not getting 17%; we’ve never gotten 17%,” Talabani said in response to a question from Al-Monitor. First, he said, the Baghdad government subtracts so-called sovereign expenses, including military and oil company costs. He said the KRG then gets 17% of what is left.
