Russia urges Iraqi Kurds to talk with Baghdad and ease tensions

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Russia urges Iraqi Kurds to talk with Baghdad and ease tensions

Russia is calling on Iraqi Kurds to work with the Iraqi government in Baghdad. The country’s foreign minister delivered this message when he met his Iraqi counterpart in Moscow.

CGTN’s Julia Lyubova reports.
Follow Julia Lyubova on Twitter @julialyubova

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that while Moscow respects the desire of Iraqi Kurdistan to assert its identity, regional leaders must do so in dialogue with the Iraqi government.

This comes after Lavrov held a meeting with his Iraqi government counterpart in Moscow on Monday. The foreign minister said that Kurdistan must realize its independence hopes exclusively via the Iraqi government, taking into account the need to avoid additional sources of instability in the region.

Lavrov also said that Moscow would continue its economic ties with Iraqi Kurdistan.

Russia’s oil giant Rosneft has recently agreed to take control of Iraqi Kurdistan’s main oil pipeline.

Relations between Iraqi Kurdistan and the central government in Baghdad have reached crisis level after Kurdistan held an independence referendum last month.