BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Kurds may consider the possibility of postponing a referendum on independence scheduled for September 25 in exchange for financial and political concessions from the central government in Baghdad, a senior Kurdish official said.
Mullah Bakhtiar, head of the political bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said a Kurdish delegation to visit Baghdad for suggestions from Iraqi leaders might persuade the Kurds to postpone the vote.
"As an alternative to delaying the referendum, Baghdad is ready to achieve anything for the region," Bakhtiar told Reuters in an interview on talks with the Baghdad government.
The United States and other Western nations fear the vote could trigger a new conflict with Baghdad, perhaps neighboring countries, and divert attention from the war against a pro-Syrian organization in Iraq and Syria.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson formally asked Massoud Barzani, head of Iraqi Kurdistan 10 days ago, to postpone the referendum.
Read also .. Barzani defending the independence referendum: We lived a failed experience
Baghdad should be ready to help
Bakhtiar told Reuters in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah that Baghdad should be ready to help the Kurds overcome a financial crisis and settle debts owed to their government.
The debt was estimated at between $ 10 billion and $ 12 billion, roughly equal to the annual budget of Kurdistan, owed to public contractors, government officials and Peshmerga fighters who had not been paid for months.
Do not be put off without a replacement
At the political level, Bakhtiar said that Baghdad must commit to agree to settle the issue of disputed areas such as the oil-rich region of Kirkuk, which also inhabited by Arabs and Turkmen.
He said the Kurdish delegation would convey the proposals it would receive to the Kurdish political parties to decide whether they were sufficient to justify the postponement of the vote, stressing that the Kurds had the right to vote at a later date if the postponement was delayed.
"We do not accept that we should postpone the referendum without an alternative and without specifying another time for the referendum or another time," he said.
Baghdad stopped funding payments from the Iraqi federal budget to the Kurdistan government in 2014 after the Kurds began to export oil independently through a pipeline to Turkey.
The Kurds say they needed extra revenue to cope with the increased costs incurred by the war on the influx and influx of large numbers of displaced people into Kurdistan.
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Mullah Bakhtiar, head of the political bureau of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said a Kurdish delegation to visit Baghdad for suggestions from Iraqi leaders might persuade the Kurds to postpone the vote.
"As an alternative to delaying the referendum, Baghdad is ready to achieve anything for the region," Bakhtiar told Reuters in an interview on talks with the Baghdad government.
The United States and other Western nations fear the vote could trigger a new conflict with Baghdad, perhaps neighboring countries, and divert attention from the war against a pro-Syrian organization in Iraq and Syria.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson formally asked Massoud Barzani, head of Iraqi Kurdistan 10 days ago, to postpone the referendum.
Read also .. Barzani defending the independence referendum: We lived a failed experience
Baghdad should be ready to help
Bakhtiar told Reuters in the Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah that Baghdad should be ready to help the Kurds overcome a financial crisis and settle debts owed to their government.
The debt was estimated at between $ 10 billion and $ 12 billion, roughly equal to the annual budget of Kurdistan, owed to public contractors, government officials and Peshmerga fighters who had not been paid for months.
Do not be put off without a replacement
At the political level, Bakhtiar said that Baghdad must commit to agree to settle the issue of disputed areas such as the oil-rich region of Kirkuk, which also inhabited by Arabs and Turkmen.
He said the Kurdish delegation would convey the proposals it would receive to the Kurdish political parties to decide whether they were sufficient to justify the postponement of the vote, stressing that the Kurds had the right to vote at a later date if the postponement was delayed.
"We do not accept that we should postpone the referendum without an alternative and without specifying another time for the referendum or another time," he said.
Baghdad stopped funding payments from the Iraqi federal budget to the Kurdistan government in 2014 after the Kurds began to export oil independently through a pipeline to Turkey.
The Kurds say they needed extra revenue to cope with the increased costs incurred by the war on the influx and influx of large numbers of displaced people into Kurdistan.
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The delegation of the Council of Ministers headed by Alaq arrives in Basra to discuss its financial problems
The delegation of the Council of Ministers arrived in the province of Basra on Monday, including a number of personalities headed by the Secretary General of the Council Mehdi Alallak and is scheduled to hold a meeting to discuss the financial problems of the province.
"The delegation includes 35 government figures headed by the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers Mahdi Al-Alak, visiting the province of Basra in response to the recent visit to the governor of Basra," the last agency to the capital Baghdad, and his talks with the ministers of finance Planning and appeal to restore the rights of the province of Basra, "noting that the delegation will be held in the Office of the province workshop to solve the problems of Basra financial.
The governor of Basra (Agency) Mohamed Taher Tamimi announced on August 15, the agreement with the Ministries of Finance and Planning to take advantage of emergency funds by transferring them to the operating budget to solve the problem of lack of petrodollar amounts in that budget.
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"The delegation includes 35 government figures headed by the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers Mahdi Al-Alak, visiting the province of Basra in response to the recent visit to the governor of Basra," the last agency to the capital Baghdad, and his talks with the ministers of finance Planning and appeal to restore the rights of the province of Basra, "noting that the delegation will be held in the Office of the province workshop to solve the problems of Basra financial.
The governor of Basra (Agency) Mohamed Taher Tamimi announced on August 15, the agreement with the Ministries of Finance and Planning to take advantage of emergency funds by transferring them to the operating budget to solve the problem of lack of petrodollar amounts in that budget.
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Sign contracts to rehabilitate vital bridges in Mosul
Minister of Construction, Municipalities and Public Works Ann Nafie Aussi signed on Monday three contracts to restore, rehabilitate and rehabilitate three vital bridges in the city of Mosul, which were damaged as a result of the war against Da'ash.
"The reconstruction and rehabilitation of the three bridges will contribute to the restoration of normal and safe traffic, the possibility of moving easily from one area to another, returning the displaced to their areas and ensuring the transportation of agricultural, industrial and commercial products," the ministry said in a statement received by the economy.
He added that the three bridges to be rehabilitated include both the Old Mosul Bridge, which is located on the Tigris River, and the Al-Faisaliah link on the left coast of Al-Midan in the right coast. It was built in 1934 and is one of the oldest bridges in the city. Before Saad Company of the Ministry and the cost of 2,980,300 billion dinars and a period of six months. "
The second bridge will be rehabilitated on the Khosr River in the left coast, which will link Al-Muthanna neighborhood to Al-Noor district. It will be temporarily treated by erecting fast iron bridges. The work was transferred to Ashur General Contracting Company, one of the ministry's formations, at a cost of 263.5 million dinars.
The contract also includes the reconstruction of the Mosul 4 bridge on the Tigris River and links the Al-Qabban district on the left coast with the pedal on the right coast. It will also be treated as a temporary bridge-bridge solution.
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"The reconstruction and rehabilitation of the three bridges will contribute to the restoration of normal and safe traffic, the possibility of moving easily from one area to another, returning the displaced to their areas and ensuring the transportation of agricultural, industrial and commercial products," the ministry said in a statement received by the economy.
He added that the three bridges to be rehabilitated include both the Old Mosul Bridge, which is located on the Tigris River, and the Al-Faisaliah link on the left coast of Al-Midan in the right coast. It was built in 1934 and is one of the oldest bridges in the city. Before Saad Company of the Ministry and the cost of 2,980,300 billion dinars and a period of six months. "
The second bridge will be rehabilitated on the Khosr River in the left coast, which will link Al-Muthanna neighborhood to Al-Noor district. It will be temporarily treated by erecting fast iron bridges. The work was transferred to Ashur General Contracting Company, one of the ministry's formations, at a cost of 263.5 million dinars.
The contract also includes the reconstruction of the Mosul 4 bridge on the Tigris River and links the Al-Qabban district on the left coast with the pedal on the right coast. It will also be treated as a temporary bridge-bridge solution.
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