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Top diplomats of Russia, Iraq to discuss Syria in Moscow on January 30 — spokeswoman

On January 29-31, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim will visit Moscow

MOSCOW, January 23./TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with Iraqi counterpart Mohamed Ali Alhakim in Moscow on January 30 to discuss the situation in Syria and in the region, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Wednesday.

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"On January 29-31, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim be on a working visit to Moscow, this will be his first trip to Russia as head of the Foreign Ministry," she said. "At the talks scheduled for January 30, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iraqi counterpart will discuss key issues on the global and regional agenda with an emphasis on the situation around Syria and Iran," she said.

The diplomat said specific attention will be paid to issues of pooling efforts to fight international and regional terrorism and religious extremism. The ministers will also look into practical tasks within the context of the development of bilateral relations, given the upcoming 8th session of the intergovernmental Russian-Iraqi commission for trade, economic and scientific-technical cooperation, due in Baghdad in spring. The foreign minister of Iraq is co-chairman of the commission.

"We note with appreciation that a bilateral political dialogue is regular and constructive, it is characterized by a high level of trust, closeness or identity of stances on key international and Middle East issues," the diplomat added.

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