Iraq eyes deeper military ties with Russia

Iraq and Russia discussed prospects for deepening military coordination, Iraq’s Defence Ministry said yesterday, amid a strain in BaghdadWashington relations after a US airstrike killed a top Iranian general inside Iraq.

The ministry statement followed a meeting in Baghdad between Iraqi army chief of staff Lt Gen Othman AlGhanimi and Russian Ambassador Maksim Maksimov, as well as a newly arrived defence attache.

The meeting comes during an uncertain moment in the future of IraqUS military relations, following the January 3 US drone strike that killed Iran’s most powerful military commander, Gen Qassem Soleimani, and Iraqi senior militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis near Baghdad airport. The attack prompted powerful Shiite parties to call for an overhaul of the existing strategic set-up between Iraq and the US-led coalition.

Al-Ghanimi praised Moscow’s role in the battle against the Isis, saying they had provided “our armed forces with advanced and effective equipment and weapons that had a major role in resolving many battles”.

The statement said the sides discussed prospects for “cooperation and coordination”.

Both parties emphasised the importance of exchanging information and coordination to prevent the resurgence of Isis.

Maksimov extended an invitation to al-Ghanimi to visit Russia and meet with his counterpart “within the framework of strengthening cooperation between the two sides”.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow.

A senior Iraqi military intelligence official, who requested anonymity, said Russia, among other countries, had come forward to offer military support in the wake of fraught US-Iraq relations following Soleimani’s killing.

In response to the drone strike that killed Soleimani, Iraq’s Parliament passed a non-binding resolution urging a US troop withdrawal, and then caretaker Prime Minister Adel AbdulMahdi openly called for a troop withdrawal.

Since then, Iraqi leaders have scaled back the sabre-rattling rhetoric. But behind closed doors, the bitterness has poisoned the partnership.

Marine General Frank McKenzie, the top US commander in the Middle East, acknowledged recently that relations with Iraq were “in a period of turbulence”. -AP