The office of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has issued a statement saying that Washington has said that US firms should coordinate with the federal Baghdad government when dealing with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of northern Iraq. The statement said: “The United States has called on all the companies to remember the necessity to coordinate with the central government before concluding any deal or contract, especially in the fields of oil and gas.” Baghdad is concerned over recent exploration agreements between international majors and the KRG and maintains it holds the sole right to export crude from Iraq.