Baghdad ready to extend national fuel system to Kurdistan Region, Kurdish official says

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Kurdistan Position Movement Secretary-General Ali Hama Salih said the federal government is prepared to roll out the fuel distribution system already in use across other Iraqi cities in the Kurdistan Region, provided local authorities submit a formal request and hand over 50,000 barrels of crude oil allocated for domestic consumption to Baghdad. Speaking at a press conference in Sulaymaniyah, Salih said talks with the Finance and Oil ministries produced a clear federal response, adding that payments to operating refineries could also be made and that the ongoing crisis serves the interests of party-affiliated companies rather than the public. Salih also called on the Kurdistan Regional Government either to transfer 120 billion dinars from local revenues to Baghdad or to file a formal request allowing the remaining amount to be deducted from public salaries. He said the region's internal revenues are substantial but have been lost to corruption and party-linked structures, and pledged support for public demands against rising fuel prices. Kurdistan Parliament member Omer Kulbi separately announced he had filed a complaint with prosecutors and the anti-corruption commission over a sudden increase in gasoline prices in Sulaymaniyah.