KRG Rep in Moscow: Russia wants to use Kurds as a card against Turkey

MOSCOW (K24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative in the Russian Federation, Aso Jangi Talabani, said on Saturday that Moscow is currently reassessing its relations with Kurds, stating that Russia uses Kurds in Turkey and Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) to fight Ankara.

On Saturday, Talabani told Kurdistan24 TV that Moscow wants to review its relations with Kurds "especially Turkey and Rojava Kurds" because Russia cannot send its troops to Turkey.

In response to the recent Russian accusations accusing the KRG helping the Islamic State (IS) smuggle oil to Turkey, Talabani said, "We have responded to Moscow through Russian media and reject the rumors." He added, "We have explained that the KRG has had economic and oil-related business ties with Turkey since the 1990s."

Recently, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Turkey and KRG of having illegal oil relations with jihadists in Syria and Iraq. The ministry took a step further and accused Turkey of having illegal oil smuggling relations with IS insurgents, specifying that trucks loaded with oil pass through the Kurdistan Region  border crossings in Zakho , located in northern Iraq.

Regarding the recent closures of the two Kurdistan Region airports due to Russian rockets passing over the Region's airspace, Talabani noted, "I don't believe that Russian rockets pose any threat to civilian airliners because the risk has been taken into consideration before."

He continued, "As we can see, Russian rockets have not been a threat to Iranian airplanes, and Tehran has not asked Russia to stop its rockets passing Iran's airspace."