ERBIL — The United States will increase efforts to assist in resolving outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad pertaining to oil and gas, Barbara Leaf, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said on Wednesday. 

The issue was discussed during a meeting between Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and a US diplomatic delegation in Erbil, where they also reviewed bilateral relations between Erbil and Washington. 

On the prolonged disputes between the regional government of Kurdistan and federal government of Iraq, PM Barzani noted that the people of the Kurdistan Region "have sacrificed a great deal for their rights and thus will not cede them under any circumstances.”

“He further expressed the Kurdistan Region’s determination to resolve all issues through dialogue and on the basis of the Constitution,” a press release by PM Barzani’s press office said. 

Leaf, for her part, reiterated Washington’s commitment to supporting the Peshmerga forces and said that they would increase their efforts to assist in resolving outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad - particularly in relation to oil and gas — as the inability to resolve them would have a negative impact on the country’s stability. 

The recent tensions in Baghdad, climate change, the development of renewable energy, increasing US investment, and developing the private sector in the Kurdistan Region were other topics covered during the discussions.