Baghdad
04 Feb 2023
Lavrov will discuss activating a number of memorandums of understanding between the two countries (Evgenia Novozhininia/AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to arrive in the Iraqi capital Baghdad within the next two days, where he will meet with Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani and other officials to discuss a number of files, an Iraqi Foreign Ministry official revealed to Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed.
The file of foreign relations of the Sudanese government is one of the most prominent files it faced, with accusations that it is close to Iran, and standing within the so-called “axis”, especially as it is formed by the “coordination framework” that brings together all blocs and parties supported and close to Tehran, which Al-Sudani has denied more than once since
An official source at the Iraqi Foreign Ministry told Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed that “Lavrov will arrive in Baghdad on Monday, on a two-day official visit, during which he will hold meetings with prime ministers, the Republic and parliament in Baghdad, and will also go to Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region, in order to meet with the leaders of the region.”
The source, who asked not to be named, indicated that “Lavrov will be at the head of a Russian government delegation, in addition to Russian companies specialized in a number of fields, and will work to sign agreements on investment and economic issues, especially in the oil, gas and energy side, with security files, exchange of experiences, and the possibility of concluding new arms deals between Baghdad and
He pointed out that “the Russian minister will discuss in Baghdad activating a number of memorandums of understanding between the two countries, related to health, education, transport, oil, energy, and other files, in addition to the file of Iraqi students studying in Russia, and the majority of these files will also be discussed during his visit to Erbil and his meeting with the Kurdistan Regional Government and Kurdish leaders.”
The source in charge of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry confirmed that “the file of developments in the situation in the region will not be absent from the axes of Lavrov meetings, during his visit to Iraq.”
For his part, the expert on Iraqi political affairs, Ahmed Al-Sharifi, said in a phone call with the “New Arab”, that the Sudanese government “wants to conclude economic and trade agreements and other second files, with many countries and international companies, and does not want to limit any file to one country, and therefore it is directed to Russian, American, Chinese, French, German
Russian weapons make up about 30 percent of the Iraqi army’s arsenal today, the majority of which were old weapons before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, which was rehabilitated. Several deals were also struck with Moscow after 2012 during the government of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to buy armored vehicles, combat weapons and attack helicopters.
At the end of November 2020, Moscow announced its readiness to meet Iraq’s demands in the field of arming its forces. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the time, at a joint press conference in Moscow with his Iraqi counterpart Fouad Hussein, that “Russia and Iraq are cooperating in various fields, including military cooperation.” Lavrov added that his country is ready to “meet all Iraq’s needs for Russian-made military products.”
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/politics/مصادر-عراقية-لـالعربي-الجديد-لافروف-يبدأ-الاثنين-زيارة-إلى-بغداد
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