Moscow and Baghdad officials agree to continue the fight against the Islamic State terrorists

Moscow and Baghdad officials agree to continue the fight against the Islamic State terrorists

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov came to terms with Iraqi leadership about the necessity to continue joint fight against the Daesh terrorist group, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

This came within Bogdanov’s working visit to Baghdad where he held a meeting with Iraqi President Barham Salih, Prime Minister Adil Abd Al-Mahdi and Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives Mohammed al-Halbusi.

“Moscow and Baghdad confirmed that there is no other way to resolve crisis situations other that in accordance with the norms of international law and the UN Charter. The necessity of continuing to work together to counter the terrorist threat caused by IS[Daesh] and its affiliated groups was also stated”, the ministry said in its statement.

The parties also reaffirmed the importance of consolidating efforts to prevent the escalation of military and political tensions in the region, the statement read.

According to the ministry, the two sides discussed a range of issues of further dynamic development of mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and Iraq in various fields. They also examined practical aspects of the preparation of the 8th meeting of the Russian-Iraqi Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, scheduled for the end of April in Baghdad.

The ministry also stressed that CEO of the Russian Gazprom Neft oil company Alexander Dyukov was also present at the meeting.

Iraq has long been suffering from activities of various terrorist groups. In 2014, vast territories of the state were occupied by the Daesh jihadists. The Iraqi army has successfully fought back against Daesh. In the end of 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi declared an end to the country’s fight against the infamous terrorist group as Iraq’s troops re-established complete control over the country’s Syrian border.

Source: Sputnik