ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Russia is prepared to repatriate its citizens who joined the Islamic State (ISIS) and are now held in Iraqi prisons, the Iraqi embassy in Moscow announced on Wednesday.
The announcement came following a meeting between Iraqi Ambassador Abdul Karim Hashim Mustafa and Russian Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov in Moscow, where Zubov said Russia would move forward with accepting Russian nationals once detainees’ citizenships are verified.
Iraq has pressed countries to repatriate citizens who were recently transferred to Baghdad after being held in Syrian detention facilities since the group’s 2019 defeat. Iraq is holding 5,700 ISIS members from over 67 countries, just 460 of whom are Iraqi nationals.
Iraqi dipomats made the formal request to Moscow to transfer Russian nationals home as part of Baghdad’s appeal to dozens of countries to take back their citizens.
Foreign governments have been reluctant to accept ISIS detainees and tens of thousands of their family members detained in massive refugee camps in Syria. International human rights groups, the United Nations and the Council of Europe have pressed for countries to adhere to international law which requires governments repatriate their citizens, as well as reintegrating family members and trying suspected terrorists.
Attacks by the Syrian army and allied armed groups on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January triggered prison breaks, prompting the transfers to Iraq by the US military earlier this month.
The SDF also announced earlier this week the closure of Al-Hol camp, which held about 24,000 family members of ISIS fighters including 6,000 foreign nationals from 40 countries. Camp residents, over 90 percent of whom are women and children, were transferred to Aleppo in northwest Syria and undisclosed locations, the AFP news agency reported.
The diplomatic meeting also signaled warming relations between Baghdad and Moscow, with Zubov pledging to establish direct communication channels with the embassy.
Mustafa and Zubov also discussed easing visa procedures for Iraqi travelers and businesspeople, “which would contribute to boosting trade and tourism and strengthening ties,” the embassy reported. Russia also pledged to resolve visa renewal hurdles faced by Iraqi students attending Russian universities, according to the statement.