MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. Russia and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq will continue contacts to reach concrete agreements, the Russian foreign ministry said on Monday after Minister Sergey Lavrov’s meetings with the Iraqi Kurdistan’s leaders in Erbil.
"During the meetings with the leaders of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Russian side expressed readiness to increase cooperation with the Kurdish autonomy on a mutually beneficial basis and with respect to the principle of harmonization of the regional and Iraq’s nationwide interests," the ministry said. "An understanding was reached to continue substantive contacts between economic entities with an eye of reaching concrete agreements."
The Russian top diplomat on Monday met with Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Masrour Barzani.
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq, also known as Iraqi Kurdistan, is an autonomous region, with its status enshrined in the country’s constitution. Frictions between Baghdad and Erbil aggravated after the September 25, 2017 Kurdish independence referendum. Baghdad was strongly against this referendum and recognized the voting results as illegitimate. It entailed a political crisis, with a partial suspension of air service and closure of land borders with the autonomy. In January 2018, central government and regional officials began a dialogue to remove the frictions. Iraqi Kurdistan’s borders were opened again.
The leaders of Iraq’s Kurdish Autonomy represent the Barzani clan. The informal leader is an old-timer of Kurdish politics, Masoud Barzani. The autonomy’s president is his nephew Nechirvan Barzani, and prime minister, Masoud’s son Masrour Barzani.
Before coming to Erbil, Lavrov visited the Iraqi capital city Baghdad, which typically disapproves the Kurds’ directs contacts with foreign states and companies.