Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq and Kurds Reach Deal on Oil Exports and Budget Payments

Nov 13, 2014 | Ben Hubbard, New York Times
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BAGHDAD —  Iraq’s central government and the autonomous region of Kurdistan reached an interim agreement on Thursday over oil exports and budget payments, at least temporarily easing a bitter dispute that has threatened the government’s stability.The standoff began earlier this year when Kurdish officials angered Baghdad by exporting oil produced in their region directly to Turkey and not through the Iraqi Oil Ministry.The government in Baghdad called the move unconstitutional and suspected that the Kurds were trying to use oil to advance a bid for independence. So the central government stopped sending to Kurdistan the 17 percent of the national budget allotted to the regional government.