Negotiations for hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov's release to begin, sources tell 'Post'

Tsurkov, 38, 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.

By AMICHAI STEIN MARCH 12, 2025 20:47

Israeli-Russian hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov over a backdrop of Iraqi and Israeli flags. (photo credit: Canva, Elizabeth Tsurkov, SHUTTERSTOCK)

There is an agreement between the relevant parties to begin negotiations for the release of Russian-Israeli citizen Elizabeth Tsurkov, Western diplomats told The Jerusalem Post. 

Tsurkov, 38, was kidnapped in March 2023 in Baghdad by Kata'ib Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian Iraqi terrorist organization. 

In January 2025, Iraq's foreign minister stated that Tsurkov is alive and that the Iraqi Prime Minister is working for her release. In the weeks since taking office, Adam Boehler, Trump's envoy for Hostage Affairs of the United States, has been working on the issue.

Amid reports in recent days about the transfer of Elizabeth Tsurkov to Iran, Western diplomats told The Post that they believe the Israeli hostage is still in Iraq.

There has been some progress in negotiations for her release. 

The Western diplomats emphasized in their conversation with The Post that 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."

Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim men from the Iranian-backed group Kataib Hezbollah wave the party's flags as they walk along a street painted in the colours of the Israeli flag during a parade marking the annual Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Baghdad (credit: THAIER AL-SUDANI/REUTERS)

This week, the Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that the US administration formally requested that Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani secure Tsurkov’s release as soon as possible, or, the administration warned, "there will be political and economic consequences." 

Sources confirmed to the Qatari newspaper that the Iraqi government, with the help of Shiite political leaders, has renewed its efforts in this regard to avoid any US action.