Baghdad-KRG Oil Deal Stalls Despite Reports of Breakthrough

The long-running oil export dispute between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil over oil exports and public-sector salaries has now deepened, as Iraq’s Cabinet failed to address the issue in its latest session, just a day after media outlets reported that a resolution was near. According to Rudaw, the Council of Ministers on July 8 did not place the oil and salary file on its agenda, dealing a blow to expectations of imminent agreement. This comes despite reports on July 7 that negotiations had reached the “final…