Russian, Iraqi foreign ministers to discuss war on terror in Middle East at Moscow talks

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. Russian and Iraqi Foreign Ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Mohamed Ali Alhakim, will discuss in Moscow on Wednesday the war on terror in the Middle East, the situation in Syria and energy cooperation. Alhakim, who assumed office in October 2018, will pay his first visit to Russia. The top Iraqi diplomat is also due to meet with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov and the leadership of the Federation Council (upper house) and the State Duma (lower house) The talks are expected to focus on developments in Iraq and the region in general, where there is a high conflict potential. The Russian Foreign Ministry says that despite Baghdad’s notable success in combating terrorism, including defeating the Islamic State (terror group, outlawed in Russia) on the Iraqi soil, "the situation in the sphere of regional security remains challenging." There is still a threat of extremist attacks in the country’s western provinces, the capital and other major cities. Therefore, the ministers plan to discuss in detail counterterrorism cooperation, including on Syria. Moscow assigns a special role to the Baghdad information center set up by Russia, Iraq, Iran and Syria in the fight against terrorists. A new factor in the Syrian process is a US plan to withdraw its contingent from the Arab Republic. The sides will also discuss growing sanctions pressure and Washington’s tough rhetoric on Tehran. Besides, the two foreign ministers may discuss the return of Russian children, whose mothers have been placed in Iraqi jails on terrorism-related charges. Russia expects to see a positive dynamics of trade turnover with Iraq, which more than doubled in January-November 2018, year-on-year. Alhakim and Borisov co-chair a bilateral commission for trade and economic, scientific and technical cooperation, which is due to hold its eighth meeting in Baghdad this spring. The co-chairs will analyze in detail current business partnership and its prospects, and discuss a number of major projects by Russian companies Lukoil and Gazprom Neft. The sides will also hash over the issues of cooperation in agriculture and the goal of Iraq’s post-conflict restoration. Read more