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KRG US Representative says sound oil policy promotes stability

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Qubad Talabany, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative to the United States, last Thursday testified before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the political strategy for Iraq. He said that a sound petroleum policy was necessary and could help to stabilise Iraq. He also stressed the need to follow the already agreed timetable for resolving the status of Kirkuk.

Talabany said that any successful strategy in Iraq “must come from within Iraq and not Washington.” Imposing a policy that ignores the realities on the ground would inevitably fail, he said.

Talabany testifies at Senate Foreign Relations Committee

His testimony was part of an ongoing series called for by Joseph Biden, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Democratic Presidential candidate, to gain a better understanding of the problems in Iraq and possible strategies to stabilise it. Senator Biden visited the Kurdistan Region in 2003 before the liberation of Iraq. Others that testified in recent weeks included US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and newly appointed commander of US forces in Iraq General David Patraeus.

The hearing also received testimony from Dr Laith Kubba, Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Endowment for Democracy, Dr. Toby Dodge, Consulting Senior Fellow for the Middle East at the UK-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, and Rend al-Rahim, Executive Director of the Iraq Foundation.

Agreement on oil depends on respect for regional rights

Talabany explained that a sound natural resources policy presents an opportunity to bring peace and stability to Iraq. He discussed the significant progress that has been made in trying to establish a cooperative agreement on oil: a draft oil law prepared in December 2006 that includes the creation of an intergovernmental entity, the “Federal Council for Oil and Gas,” with both federal and regional membership. He informed the committee that a revenue sharing law would soon be prepared as well.

Talabany stressed that these two laws currently contain “major concessions” by the KRG. Although the Iraqi constitution gives the KRG the sole authority to develop new fields in the Kurdistan Region and receive revenue from those fields, it has agreed to share those revenues with the rest of Iraq.

He made it clear, however, that this cooperative agreement “will depend on it respecting the right of regions to make the final decision on petroleum contracting in the region, while at the same time respecting the right of regions to receive their proportionate share of the national revenue.” These rights cannot be violated, warned Talabany.

Keep to Kirkuk referendum timetable to minimise crisis

On the issue of Kirkuk, Talabany said that it would be wise for the US to allow the situation to progress naturally and according to a timetable that Iraq’s leaders agreed upon under article 140 of Iraq’s constitution. He added that delaying the proposed referendum, in which voters will decide whether Kirkuk will be administered by the KRG or by the federal government, will only increase the risk of the situation erupting out of control.

Talabany also expressed some of the grievances of people in the Kurdistan Region. Many Kurds feel that the Kurdish good will and positive engagement in the new Iraq has yielded limited gains for the people of the Region. He asked for assurances that, in any event, the US guarantee the protection of the Kurdistan Region: “It is in the United States’ strategic interest and should be your moral obligation”.

The transcript of the hearing will be published on this page of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations website.

For more information please contact US(at)krg.org

Source: KRG.ORG

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