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A Western diplomatic team and local Iraqi parties are in "continuous contact" to secure the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-Israeli researcher kidnapped in Iraq in 2023, according to a report in Arabic media.

"Contacts are being conducted by a team from several countries, under the protection and coordination of an international coalition, in an informal manner, with Iraqi parties participating in the political process, in an effort to revive the negotiation regarding the Israeli abduction," a Emirati outlet Erem News.

The source, who requested anonymity, clarified that "Tsurkov is being held by local armed groups, and there is no communication between the international team and this group, but rather through mediators from other parties".

"The negotiations are still in their early stages, and there are no indications of anything, and the issue of her survival is not yet known," the source added.

It comes after an Ìýthat Israeli officials were in contact with her captors - via a third party - in recent months, to secure Tsurkov’s release.

The source confirmed that such contact is ongoing without disclosing any details about the negotiations.

Tsurkov, who is also a Russian citizen, is a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science at Princeton University and a researcher at the Forum for Regional Thinking in Israel and the Newlines Institute in Washington.

In 2023, she travelled to Baghdad on her Russian passport to study pro-Iran militias and the movement of Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr as part of her research on the region, according to several journalists who had met her.

She was abducted after leaving a cafe in the Iraqi capital's Karrada neighbourhood, with blame falling on the pro-Iran militia Kataib Hezbollah.

Tsurkov is also known for her political activism, supporting causes such as the Syrian revolution and opposing the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

In a visit to the US in April 2024, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ²¹²õ²õ³Ü°ù±ð»åÌýÌýthat his government was dedicated to revealing the fate of Tsurkov, after criticism over the perceived inaction of Iraqi authorities regarding her case.ÌýÌý