Russia respects the desire of Iraqi Kurdistan to seek to assert its identity but this must be done in dialogue with the Iraqi government, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday at talks with his Iraqi government counterpart.
Lavrov said Russia would continue its economic ties with Iraqi Kurdistan, as it does with other constituent parts of Iraq. He said Russia was not closing its consulate in Erbil, the main city in Iraqi Kurdistan, but said the mission was subordinate to the Russian embassy in Baghdad.
