Russia to offer increased military aid to Iraq

Russia will ramp up its military support to Iraq to help fight against extremist groups in the latter’s territory, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Thursday.

The Russian deputy made the statement at a press conference after holding a closed-door meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari in Baghdad.

“In response to Iraq’s requests of more military aid, we will respond in three ways. The first one is the exchange of information. Our surveillance forces and the troops deployed in Syria, as required by the Syrian government, are capable of providing adequate information to us,” said Rogozin.

In addition, Rogozin said Russia will also offer training to Iraqi military personnel and provide arms and equipment to Iraqi security forces.

Iraqi foreign minister said his country is still in need of more international aid from strategic and political perspectives, despite its recent success in retaking swathes of lands from the hands of extremist groups.

“We need multilateral support from the world, no matter it’s from members of international organizations or not. We need various aid, such as military training and intelligence sharing. However, all these must be done without infringing Iraq’s independence of sovereignty and meddling in Iraq’s internal affairs,” said al-Jaafari.

Issues discussed at the meeting included the Turkish army’s “illegal presence” in Iraq, according to reports. Russia showed its support in Iraq’s stance of safeguarding its independence of sovereignty.

The two sides also agreed to enhance cooperation in areas such as energy, manufacturing, trade and especially in the petroleum industry as concerns mount about the recessing global oil market.