CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 102

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA
Good relations with the countries of the Middle East are essential to
Iraqi Kurdistan, because their stance and goodwill on the aspirations of
Kurdish people will be decisive factors for the possible recognition of its
independence in the future.
While Iran and Turkey had established their strong presence in Iraqi
Kurdistan decades ago, the Kurdish region was not a priority in Saudi
Arabia’s policy. However, there is a possibility of change of this pattern
in the coming years. Riyadh is shifting to more active foreign policy in
the Middle East, including in Iraq.
Iraqi Kurdistan seeks to build its own foreign relations independent-
ly from Baghdad. Economic deals and political meetings of KRG often
cause disapproval and discontent in Baghdad. However, in some cases
Iraqi government had no leverages to prohibit separate deals. KRG’s for-
eign policy of establishing relations with other countries and foreign vis-
its of Kurdish offi cials aim to make the region more independent from the
center and prove that it has the capacity to enter into relations with the
other states as a key qualifi cation of a sovereign state, as mentioned in the
Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States. 7
Iraqi Kurdistan needs to gain legitimacy abroad if it sets a goal to be-
come internationally recognized state.
The war against IS has made Iraqi Kurdistan an important actor in the
region. On the other side KRG faced political, economic and fi nancial cri-
ses caused by high dependence on oil revenues which have plunged more
than twice since 2014. Another problem was contradictions with central
government in Baghdad, which often did not fully pay 17% of oil reve-
nues fi xed in the Iraqi constitution. 8 Baghdad used this lever against Iraqi
Kurdistan.
KRG claimed that it played an essential role in defeating IS in and de-
serves to declare independence. However, the only country, which openly
supports the independence of Kurdistan Region, is Israel.
The Relations of Iraqi Kurdistan and GCC countries
Iran and Turkey are the biggest economic partners of Iraqi Kurdistan.
The trade with these countries reaches billions of dollars. Turkish and
Iranian companies operate in Iraqi Kurdistan, especially are widely rep-
resented in the construction. Turkey and Iran have broad political infl u-
7
8
UiO: The Faculty of Law, Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, http://
www.jus.uio.no/english/services/library/treaties/01/1-02/rights-duties-states.xml (accessed
September 7,2018).
Iraqi Constitution, Article 112.
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