Iraqi politicians agree deal on sharing oil, says Kurd minister

Iraq’s Kurdish leaders said last night they had struck an important deal with the central government in Baghdad over a law to divide up Iraq’s oil revenues, which is seen by the Bush administration as one of the benchmarks in attempts to foster national reconciliation.

Ashti Hawrami, the minister for natural resources in the Kurdistan regional government, told the Guardian the text had been finalised late last night after 48 hours of “tough bargaining” with Baghdad. The deal represented “a genuine revenue sharing agreement” that was transparent and would benefit all the people of Iraq and help pull the country together, he said.

guardian