Russia has 'excellent political dialogue' with Kurdistan Region's leadership: Ambassador

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Russia has "excellent political dialogue with the Kurdish leadership," Russian Ambassador to Iraq Elbrus Kutrashev told Kurdistan 24 on Wednesday. 

"We have good relations with Iraqi Kurdistan," Kutrashev said. "We look at relations with this part of Iraq as a very important part in terms of our general policies in Iraq." 

"In Kurdistan, we have had traditional humanitarian ties with Kurds, which go back to the '40s."

Read More: Kurdistan Region could be 'example' for rest of Iraq, says Russia's top envoy

He pointed out that the Kurdistan Region is home to a diaspora from the Russian Federation and the former Soviet Union. 

"So in this respect, when the Russian ambassador comes to Erbil or Sulaimani, he feels at home, surrounded by friends, partners, and even brothers," Kutrashev said. 

Russia established close political and later economic relations with the Kurdistan Region after the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003. According to Kutrashev, Moscow "managed to establish good relations with all Iraqi political parties on the ground, including Kurdish parties." 

"First of all, we got in contact with them via their offices in Baghdad, then organized (several) visits of heads of Russian diplomatic missions from Baghdad to Kurdistan," he said. 

Ties between Erbil and Moscow have strengthened over the past few years. In October 2017, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) signed an agreement with Russia's state oil company Rosneft. 

In May 2018, a high-ranking Kurdish delegation led by then-Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani visited Moscow on an official invitation. There, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed bilateral relations.

After the meeting, Barzani announced that the Kurdistan Region has long-standing historical ties with Russia, adding that the KRG seeks to expand relations with Russia politically and economically.

"Russia has good relations with the Kurdistan Region President [Nechirvan] Barzani as well as Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and [Kurdistan Democratic Party] President Masoud Barzani," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told Kurdistan 24 in 2019.

Ambassador Kutrashev also said he hopes that the Kurds in Syria and the Syrian government can reach an agreement. 

Read More: Russia supports mediation between Syrian Kurds and Damascus: Ambassador

"As I said previously, it's not an easy thing. I hope that this is because of a lack of experience in having dialogue between the two sides. And I hope that with time (...) they will learn to talk to each other and understand the long-term interest in reaching (an) agreement," he said. 

However, he added that it's unclear when this process can be successfully finished. "But it's important that negotiations are going on."