Ambassador Maksim Maksimov, Consul General Victor Simakov met with KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.
They were joined by officials from Russian energy giant Gazprom – Sergei Petrov, general director of Gazprom Neft in the Middle East, and the head of Gazprom’s Erbil office.
Both sides emphasized the importance of developing ties in all sectors, especially the economic sector and the prime minister showed willingness to facilitate Russian investment in the Kurdistan Region, according to a statement from the KRG.
Gazprom has oil operations in the south of the Kurdistan Region in the Garmiyan block and Halabja.
The diplomats also met with KDP president Masoud Barzani, and the Kurdistan Region’s national security chief Masrour Barzani.
During their meeting with Masoud Barzani, Ambassador Maksimov pointed to the historical ties between Russia and the people of Kurdistan.
“He also announced the Kurdistan Region has special importance for Russia and hoped that relations will be developed further,” read a statement from the KDP.
The ambassador pointed to the willingness of Russian oil companies to work in the Kurdistan Region and to play a larger role in the economy of the Region.
Rosneft, a majority state owned Russian oil company, operates in the Kurdistan Region’s oil fields and holds a 60 percent stake in the KRG’s pipeline to Ceyhan.
Masoud Barzani thanked the Russian representatives for the “friendly, realistic, and balanced stances of Russia in relation to the political situation and the challenges faced by the Kurdistan Region in the last couple of months,” the statement added.
Russia, while expressing its support for Iraq’s territorial integrity, did not follow the world’s harsh stance against Kurdistan’s vote for independence.
The ambassador also met with the Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council Masrour Barzani.
“Chancellor Masrour Barzani received today Russian Ambassador to Iraq Maksim Maksimov and discussed the state of bilateral relations and a range of regional issues,” according to a readout from his office.
The two “underscored the need to enhance the Kurdistan Region-Russia relationship, including political and economic relations,” the statement added.
They also discussed next month’s Iraqi parliamentary elections with Masrour Barzani stressing the need for “a post-election Kurdistani coalition and unity within Kurdistan Region.”
The chancellor expressed grave concern over the reemergence of ISIS in many areas, such as Kirkuk and Anbar.
A string of attacks by ISIS has left over 29 people dead on the Kirkuk-Saladin-Baghdad road, and the Iraqi army yesterday announced the killing of 14 ISIS militants in clashes in Kirkuk and Anbar.
