PM:12:49:15/09/2022
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SULAIMANI— United
States Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf, has
said that the US takes no "legal position or constitutional position"
on February's Iraqi federal court's ruling on the Kurdistan Region's energy
sector.
The ruling
dictates that the (Kurdistan Regional Government) KRG’s law on the independent
sale of the oil and natural gas was against the Iraqi constitution.
Leaf made
the comments yesterday (September 14) during a special briefing on her first
trip as an ambassador to the Middle East.
She visited
Baghdad and Erbil between September 4 and 7 meeting Iraqi and Kurdish leaders
and officials as well as civil society members, entrepreneurs, and journalists.
"The
February decision by the Iraq supreme court invalidating Kurdish Regional
Government arrangements for export of oil and gas was – and the enforcement of
that was an issue on which the U.S., on the one hand, takes no legal position,
no constitutional position," Leaf explained responding to a reporter's
question.
"But on
the other hand, pushing forward right now in the midst of an ongoing crisis over
– political crisis over government formation simply would risk a widening kind
of economic crisis, and that is the last thing that the Iraqi public
needs."
She said the
Us has suggested that Erbil and Baghdad discuss the arrangements to take this
issue into "third-party negotiation or some other such venue such that,
essentially, they could provide the space for discussions of a technical nature
that on the other side of government formation could be taken up again to drive
towards what everyone agrees is long overdue and quite necessary, which is a
hydrocarbons law."
'Washington
concerned'
She added
that there is a need for a larger hydrocarbon legal framework to resolve the
issue.
She said:
"I’m quite concerned – Washington is quite concerned – that rushing
forward and implementing this decision risks driving U.S. firms out of Iraq,
other firms out of Iraq, which would be a terrible vote of no confidence in the
business environment in Iraq and, frankly, could produce wider economic
repercussions well beyond the Kurdish region of Iraq."
Following
the federal court's ruling, several foreign firms, including U.S. oilfield
services companies Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Halliburton have left the
Kurdistan Region.
KRG
officials, however, have rejected the federal court's ruling and described it
as "political".
Human rights
Leaf said that
she discussed human rights with Kurdish leaders and officials during her
two-day trip to the Kurdistan Region.
"I
emphasized the importance of respect for human rights and freedom of
expression. Journalists and activists have a vital role to play in a strong
democracy."
Leaf said
that during her one-week stay in Iraq, she met senior government officials and
political leaders, civil society, academic, and faith leaders, young
entrepreneurs, journalists, and human rights, defenders.
She added
that in the Biden administration’s approach toward Iraq, all programs,
activities, and policies support Iraq’s sovereignty, stability, and security.
In Regard to
government formation and the recent outbreak of violence in Baghdad, Leaf said:
"in Baghdad, I delivered a straightforward message to a range of senior
governmental leaders, including the prime minister, the president, the Council
of Representatives speaker, saying that there is an urgent need for Iraq’s
political leaders to come together for an inclusive dialogue to make important
compromises that will chart a way out of Iraq’s current crisis over government
formation."
(NRT Digital
Media)