Tsurkov was kidnapped in March 2023 in Baghdad by Kata’ib Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian Iraqi terrorist organization, and is believed to still be in Iraq.
There is general agreement between the relevant parties to begin negotiations for the release of Russian-Israeli Elizabeth Tsurkov, Western diplomats have told The Jerusalem Post.
Tsurkov, 38, a researcher at Princeton University, was kidnapped in March 2023 in Baghdad by the pro-Iranian Shi’ite militia Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi terrorist organization.
In January, Iraq’s foreign minister said Tsurkov was alive, and that Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani is working to facilitate her release.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, has been working on the issue.
Amid reports in recent days about the transfer of Tsurkov to Iran, Western diplomats told the Post they believe she is still in Iraq.
There has been some progress in negotiations for her release, they said.
The details surrounding the talks that could lead to her release “are still far from being finalized, but this could be a sign of direction,” one of the diplomats said.
The US administration has formally requested that Sudani secure Tsurkov’s release as soon as possible, or else “there will be political and economic consequences,” the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported earlier this week.
The Iraqi government, with the help of Shi’ite political leaders, has renewed its efforts in this regard to avoid any US actions, people familiar with the matter told the newspaper.