High-ranking Iraqi and Russian defence officials discussed prospects for deepening military coordination, Iraq ’s Defence Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The meeting came at an uncertain moment in the future of military relations between Iraq and the US, following the US drone strike that assassinated Iran’s most powerful military commander, Gen Qassem Suleimani, and Iraqi senior militia leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, near Baghdad airport last month.
The attack continues to create friction, prompting powerful Shiite parties to call for an overhaul of the existing strategic set-up between Iraq and the US-led coalition.
The ministry statement followed a meeting in Baghdad between Iraqi army chief of staff Lt Gen Othman Al Ghanimi and Iraq’s Russian Ambassador Maksim Maksimov, as well as a newly arrived defence attache.
Lt Gen Al Ghanimi praised Moscow’s role in the battle against ISIS, saying they had provided “our armed forces with advanced and effective equipment and weapons that had a major role in resolving many battles,” according to the ministry statement.
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.
Mr Maksimov extended an invitation to Lt Gen Al Ghanimi to visit Russia and meet with his counterpart “within the framework of strengthening cooperation between the two sides,” the statement said.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow.
A senior Iraqi military intelligence official told The Associated Press that Russia, among other countries, has come forward to offer military support in the wake of fraught US-Iraq relations following Suleimani’s assassination.
“Iraq still needs aerial reconnaissance planes. There are countries that have given signals to Iraq to support us or equip us with reconnaissance planes such as Russia and Iran,” the official said.
In response to the drone strike that attacked Suleimani, Iraq’s Parliament passed a non-binding resolution urging a US troop withdrawal, and then caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi openly called for a troop withdrawal.
Since then, Iraqi leaders have scaled back the sabre-rattling. But behind closed doors, the bitterness has poisoned the partnership.
Senior Iraqi military officials told AP this week that Iraq told its military not to seek assistance from the US-led coalition in joint operations targeting ISIS and to minimise cooperation.
US Marine Corps Gen Frank McKenzie, the top US commander in the Middle East, acknowledged recently that relations with Iraq were “in a period of turbulence”.
Source: The National
