In an interview with the website of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Ali Mousavi Khalkhali stated that the transfer of oil from Kirkuk to Turkey was illegal, because the central government of Baghdad did not recognize this pipeline. but the KRG did the job without coordination with the central government. However after the decision of the Federal Supreme Court was issued and the Kurdish pipeline to Turkey was declared illegal, despite all the pressure applied by the KRG this pipeline could not be formalized.

Referring to the upcoming visit of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq and the Iraqi central government’s consultation on this pipeline and its relations with the KRG, he said: “Probably during Erdogan’s visit to Iraq, an agreement will be signed on this issue, which can improve the political relations between Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government”

Meanwhile, regarding an international complaint filed by the Iraqi government over Turkey’s use of the illegal pipeline, the court ruled in favor of Iraq and fined Turkey 1.5 billion dollars, and this has cast a shadow on the bilateral relations and interactions between Baghdad and Ankara. Therefore, it is natural for the Turkish government to move towards solving this issue with the Baghdad government, and this can lead to the weakening of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

This expert on Iraqi issues, pointing out that the KRG cannot export oil on behalf of others and this situation makes them extremely isolated, said: the developments in the region are aimed at weakening the claims of the KRG and its efforts to achieve autonomy. The salary of the employees and the military and security forces of the KRG must be paid by the central government and it is no longer the case for the budget to be deposited into the account of the KRG. Because the central government wants to exercise influence on this budget in order not to lose its financial authority, therefore, the situation is not going well for the KRG and it has become very dependent on the central government. The special powers KRG is trying to define for itself are disappearing due to these new coordinates.

Mousavi Khalkhali pointed out: The Kurdistan Regional Government and the Democratic Party of Kurdistan had previously entered into close interaction with the Turkish government and in a way the Ankara government became the guardian of this party; but now this relationship is affected by the new interaction of the central government of Iraq with Turkey. Anyway, in the new relations with Iraq, the Turkish government is moving towards the revival of bilateral relations and forging interactions with the central government, and it is natural that its relations with the KRG will be overshadowed.

He stated: The future developments in the relations between Iraq and Turkey will probably cause the Turkish government to distance itself from the KRG, although as a political authority it plays a role in the internal developments of Iraq, but it was trying to advance its interests by relying on Turkey and things may change somehow. With these conditions, in the future, the JRG will distance itself from many of the claims it had until now and tried to establish its autonomy, and it will become closer and dependent on Baghdad and the central government than in the past.