Barzani shared his views of the Kurdish question in Syria and its possible solutions with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mihail Bogdanov and his delegation during their visit to the KRG’s capital of Erbil.

Syrian Kurds set up autonomous administrations spanning most of the country’s north and east during the civil war raging since 2011, but lost many major settlements when Turkey launched military operations in 2018 and 2019.

Operation Peace Spring launched last October drove the Kurdish-led forces out of large parts of northeast Syria, giving the Russian-backed Syrian government space to return and reclaim key areas. Russia has acted as an intermediary between the Syrian government and the remaining Kurdish-led territories, which are shielded by U.S. forces.

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