Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani denied that Kurdish oil exports were a prelude to seeking independence from Iraq, saying Erbil only wanted to ensure it receives the revenues promised to it under the constitution. In a speech to the Kurdistan parliament on Wednesday, Barzani blamed Baghdad for a current row over independent oil exports by Erbil, saying that many problems could have been avoided if the central government had reached an agreement on sharing the revenues from oil sales. “We don’t see this (oil exports) as a way for the independence of Kurdistan. Indeed it is not so!” declared Barzani, who is officially prime minister of a caretaker government until a new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is announced. “We want to implement our constitutional rights within Iraq,” he said, answering questions from […]