ERBIL /Iraq/, October 7. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is meeting with President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Nechirvan Barzani. The meeting is being held in Erbil, the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan.
Journalists saw only the beginning of the meeting when the sides exchanged greetings. The talks continued behind closed doors.
Earlier in the day, Lavrov met with Lavrov met with Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Masrour Barzani and the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and former President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Masoud Barzani.
It is the Russian top diplomat’s first visit to Iraqi Kurdistan, although Moscow has been traditionally maintaining close contacts with the Iraqi Kurds. The Russian delegation also includes representatives from Russia’s biggest oil companies, such as Rosneft and Gazprom neft.
Before coming to Erbil, Lavrov visited the Iraqi capital city Baghdad, which typically disapproves the Kurds’ directs contacts with foreign states and companies.