ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Friday expressed his optimism at the possibility of a final agreement being reached that could effectively resolve most of the multiple outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad that have proven irreconcilable between all previous federal and regional administrations in post-2003 Iraq.

“While there have been many obstacles, we have a strong negotiating team, drawn from across the KRG and united in its purpose,” said Barzani in a tweet.

He added, “I am optimistic we can reach a final settlement with the federal government.”

The delegation representing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is currently conducting talks with Baghdad, focusing mainly on frozen financial dues from the national budget already allotted for the region.

The delegates are scheduled to leave for Baghdad next week to start a new round of talks before drafting the outline of the federal budget for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. Kurdistan Region officials are part of the committee meetings that were formed in late August to facilitate a budget agreement.

In the current federal financial budget, Iraq imposed a share not exceeding 13 percent owed to the Kurdistan Region, in contrast to the previous budget share of 17 percent, based on population.

Prime Minister Barzani said on Wednesday that the recent visit to the Kurdistan Region by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was a positive step on the road to resolving disputes “on the basis of the constitution.”

Furthermore, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani reaffirmed Kurdistan Region's support for the Iraqi administration of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. He also expressed the region's “willingness" to resolve all the outstanding issues with the federal government of Iraq in a "manner that protects the Kurdistan Region's constitutional rights and entitlements.”