Masoud Barzani

Salahadin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Barzani Headquarters)- President Masoud Barzani received a Russian government delegation which was headed by Mr. Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister and the Special Presidential Representative to the Middle East and Africa and the country's ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Maxim Maximov. During the meeting, President Barzani and Mr. Bogdanov discussed the developments in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and the wider Middle East.

The meeting commenced with Mr. Bogdanoc conveying the greetings of President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to President Barzani. On his part, President Barzani expressed his appreciation to the government and people of Russia for their continuous support to the Kurdistan Region.

As a focal point of the conversation, the two spoke of the current situation in Baghdad and other areas in southern Iraq and the ongoing protests which are occurring in pursuit of better services for all of the citizens of Iraq. The current situation, both sides agreed does not benefit anyone and that it should be resolved as soon as possible.

President Barzani and Deputy Foreign Minister Bogadov deliberated ways of further bolstering the cultural, political and economic relations between Russia and the Kurdistan Region in the interest of the people of the two sides.

The attendees also extensively spoke of the historical relations between Kurdistan and Russia and how that relationship has only been strengthened with time. President Barzani and the delegation made references to the late Mustafa Barzani's presence in the former Soviet Union along with five hundred Peshmerga forces for over a decade (1947-1958) and how that experience helped in further solidifying the relationship between the people of Kurdistan and Russia.