Erbil's Gas Export Deals a Domestic Affair, Says Barzani

Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said on Thursday that Erbil’s energy deals with the outside world were a domestic affair, reported Rudaw.

The comment came after the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), an organization affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), declared that it was against Kurdistan Region’s natural gas exports to Turkey. Barzani also condemned attacks on region’s gas pipeline.

“We do not tolerate their interference in our affairs,” the Kurdish prime minister told Rudaw. “It’s a domestic KRG affair.”

“[The attacks] are not good for either of us,” he added. “It is the matter of people’s livelihood.”

He also dismissed comments from his Iraqi counterpart Haider Abadi who claimed that he could provide salaries of Kurdish civil servants if Erbil handed over its oil productions.

“If Baghdad sends the Kurdistan Region its share of the budget we do not hesitate to hand over their share of the oil,” said Barzani.