ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s former parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi on Wednesday proposed a series of measures aimed at resolving outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad “at their root.” The suggestions were immediately slammed by veteran Kurdish politician Hoshyar Zebari for demonstrating a fundamental misunderstanding of the Iraqi constitution.

The Iraqi finance ministry last week said it will suspend funding the Kurdistan Region for the remainder of 2025, claiming that the Region has already exceeded its share of the annual federal budget.

The fair distribution of the Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget has long been a point of contention between Erbil and Baghdad.

In a post on X, Halbousi said that these recurring issues between the two governments will continue “if they are not resolved at their root.” The veteran Sunni politician then proposed three steps for all parties to commit to in order to permanently address these conflicts.

Halbousi suggested that extraction, use, marketing, and export of oil, gas, and other natural resources “be exclusively under the authority and jurisdiction of the federal government.”

The Sunni strongman also suggested the Iraqi federal government have exclusive authority over “the management and protection of borders and ports, and the imposition of fees and customs tariffs.”

“The federal government shall bear the expenses of the Iraqi people, distributing financial allocations in the budget (for ministries, provinces, and the Region) fairly based on population representation, while allocating an agreed-upon percentage of revenues to the Region and producing provinces, as well as provinces with ports,” read the third suggestion from the former parliament speaker.

Hoshyar Zebari, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) politburo member and Iraq’s former foreign minister, said that Halbousi’s proposed roadmap represents “a deep sense of crisis,” criticizing the leader of the Taqadum Party for interpreting the Iraqi constitution according to his own wishes.

“A preliminary review of the proposal shows that Mr. Halbousi has not thoroughly read the constitution's provisions and tends to interpret its articles in a wishful and conciliatory manner, rather than in a constitutional and legal one,” wrote Zebari on X.

Article 112 of the 2005 Iraqi constitution says that “the federal government, with the producing provinces and regional governments” are responsible for the management of oil and gas and shall together formulate the necessary strategic policies to develop the sector.

Article 114 states that the management of customs shall be shared between the federal and regional authorities.

Years of conflict and unresolved issues between Erbil and Baghdad, and economic sanctions and pressure on Erbil by federal authorities, have pushed employees in the Region to live from paycheck to paycheck.