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Russian foreign ministry discusses return of Russian children from Iraq, Syria

The meeting was headed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Anna Kuznetsova

MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry has discussed the return of Russian children from Syria and Iraq, including territories out of Damascus’ control, with members of the corresponding task force, the ministry informed on Friday.

The meeting was headed by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Anna Kuznetsova.

"The participants of the meeting have discussed the outcomes of three humanitarian missions on returning underage Russian citizens from Iraq to Russia (90 children in total), held with active participation of the Russian Embassy in Baghdad, related Russian agencies and with effective cooperation of Iraqi officials," the message by the ministry states. "All these children had been on the territory of Iraq unlawfully with their mothers who are being investigated or sentenced on charges of involvement with terrorist organizations."

"Special attention was paid to the issue of returning children in a similar situation from Syria. First and foremost, the children who ended up on the territories out of Damascus’ control," the ministry added.

A Russian Emergencies Ministry aircraft has evacuated 33 children of Russian citizens held in a prison in Baghdad on Wednesday, the ministry’s press service informed TASS.

Earlier, Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Anna Kuznetsova informed that all identified children of Russian citizens jailed in Iraq for terrorist activity would be returned to Russia by August.

In 2017, an inter-agency commission dealing with the return of children from combat zones was established. In December 2018 and February 2019, 57 children were returned to Russia from Iraq due to the efforts of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Emergencies Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Health Ministry and other agencies.

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