20 December 2007 | By Damien McElroy in Irbil
Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq have threatened to withdraw support from the Baghdad government if demands for federal power-sharing and a fair share of oil wealth are not met.
"What we ask for as Kurds comes within the constitution of Iraq," he said. "We did whatever we could do to ensure that Iraq could succeed, but Iraq is a complicated country. Now we have reached one question, whether we are partners in the government or not. We don't have that kind of feeling.
"Certainly if we do not see any response from Baghdad to solve the issues raised, we would be obliged to take another route," he said.
Under Iraq's new constitution, three northern provinces were granted autonomy from Baghdad to form a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Clauses guaranteed rights over oil revenues and a referendum over disputed areas, including the strategic city of Kirkuk. Baghdad has since contested KRG efforts to attract foreign oil investment and failed to deliver the referendum.
"The problem in Baghdad is you have a structure, you have a prime minister, but you have nobody to make a decision," said Mr Barzani.
Relations between the two governments hit an all-time low last month when Hussein Shahristani, Baghdad's oil minister, said that companies dealing with the Kurds would be blacklisted. The bulk of Iraq's oil wealth lies outside the Kurdish region but its reserves are an attractive pool of future supply. The announcement cast a shadow on tentative efforts by Western firms to enter the region.
The Kurdish government furiously denounced Mr Shahristani's attempts to suppress its rights.
Kurdistan is in a different league, if not yet a different country, from the rest of Iraq. It is attempting to establish its credentials as a Dubai-style business centre. The region is safe and booming.
A foreign diplomat said: "Crunch time is coming."