NEW YORK - The United Nations on Wednesday called on Erbil and Baghdad to address ongoing disputes according to the constitution and said it is ready to help if both sides make the request, with heightened tensions having left over a million Kurdistan Region civil servants unpaid.
“What we encourage is for there to be a constructive dialogue, based on the constitution, so that you can have a mutually acceptable resolution to this issue,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson to the UN Secretary-General, told Rudaw.
He said that the UN stands ready to help resolve the disputes, given that both parties request help.
“If both parties request our help under good officers, then we can undertake a good officer's role, but first, we would need an agreement by both of them,” Haq said.
Tensions between Erbil and Baghdad have intensified in recent weeks after the federal government halted budget transfers to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iraqi Oil Minister Taif Sami accused Erbil of exceeding its 12.67 share of the 2025 federal budget by over 13.5 trillion Iraqi dinars (approximately $10.34 billion), citing rulings by Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court, which prohibit further disbursements under such conditions.
The decision has left over 1.