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Updated March 13th, 2023 at 11:44 IST

Russia announces agreement reached with Kurds to return 200 Russian kids from Syria

Russia's Maria Lvova-Belova announced on Sunday that an agreement had been reached to return another 200 Russian children home from Syria soon.

Reported by: Digital Desk
Maria Lvova-Belova
Image: Kremlin.ru | Image:self
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Maria Lvova-Belova, the children's rights ombudswoman for Russia, announced on Sunday that an agreement had been reached to bring back an additional 200 Russian children from Syria in the near future, reported Russian news agency TASS. "An agreement has been reached with the authorities of the Kurdish side to take another 200 Russian children home from Syria soon. As you can see, our negotiations are becoming increasingly better, while groups of children have been getting larger, and we very much hope that such a close cooperation will continue," she told reporters upon returning from Syria.

Lvova-Belova stated that the 56 children who arrived with her from Syria earlier on Sunday would undergo a few weeks of rehabilitation before being sent back to their families in 16 regions across Russia. She commended the Health Ministry, emergency medicine professionals, as well as Syria and the Kurds who had collaborated to facilitate the repatriation of these children.

During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier, Lvova-Belova informed him how the United States had initially employed the Kurds to hinder her efforts to repatriate Russian children. However, she revealed that an agreement had been eventually reached to bring 69 kids back to Russia. Putin instructed for the cooperation with the Kurds to persist, stating that "it is easier to negotiate with them than with the Americans."

Kurdish appeals to repatriate foreign nationals

The Kurdish administration has been detaining thousands of Syrians and foreigners suspected of having ties to IS, after leading a campaign backed by the United States that liberated Syria's last territory from the Islamist group in 2019. The administration is holding foreign fighters in prisons, while women and children associated with the group are residing in cramped camps.

The Kurds in Syria have repeatedly appealed to the international community to repatriate foreign nationals detained in the overcrowded camps. However, their pleas have largely been ignored, with only a limited number, mainly children, allowed to return as their home countries are apprehensive about security threats and possible domestic political backlash, Moscow Times had previously reported. 

According to Russian authorities, almost 4,500 Russians had joined the ranks of IS. Moscow was the first to organize returns from both Syria and Iraq. Since the initial repatriation of women and children led by Chechen Republic President Ramzan Kadyrov, at least 341 Russians, including many orphans, have been brought back between 2018 and late 2021.

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Published March 13th, 2023 at 11:44 IST

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