Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks during talks with President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Nechirvan Barzani, Erbil, October 7, 2019

Mr President,

I believe that your election proves that you have the authority and the reputation and that you will serve your people and the relations between Erbil and Baghdad, which have been on the upper trend lately, to the best of your ability. We welcome the latest developments in Iraq and Kurdistan, including the importance which we attach to promoting our friendly relations.

The discussions we had here today prove that there are very good prospects and mutual interest.

You have been a couple of times in Russia, in St Petersburg and Moscow, and you met with President of Russia Vladimir Putin. He asked me to tell you that he has warm memories of that meeting and to wish you good luck in your current activities.

Thank you for paying special attention when you were Prime Minister to the interests of the Russian companies and to their, I think, very useful work here together with their local partners.

Of course, you know Zelimkhan Mutsoyev, the Co-Chair of the Russian-Kurdish Business Council. We believe this is also a very important sphere of our cooperation, along with the work of historians, public figures and parliamentarians.