MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Russia places a great emphasis on activating cooperation with Iraq, namely in the military-technical sphere, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said on Thursday on the outcomes of the talks with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, as well as the meetings with Iraqi President Barham Salih and PM Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. The statement was provided by Borisov’s press service.
"We attach great importance to the development of the entire range of bilateral ties. We especially place an emphasis on the issues related to the recovery of Iraq’s economy and to activating cooperation in such priority areas as energy, industrial cooperation, transport, agriculture and the military-technical sphere," Borisov said.
He also stressed that Russia is interested in the soonest regulation of conflict situations in the Middle East. "We are interested in the soonest regulation of conflicts in Iraq and the neighboring Syria, the full eradication of the terrorist threat in the face of ISIL (former name of the Islamic State terrorist group, outlawed in Russia - TASS) and other groups. We call for ensuring unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Iraqi state," Borisov informed.
The Russian deputy PM arrived in Baghdad on an official visit on Wednesday.
The deputy PM’s press service informed that Borisov and Hussein had discussed the dynamic of turnover, the joint projects of Russia and Iraq in the energy sphere, as well as industrial cooperation. The parties focused on the opportunities to expand export of Russian equipment and pharmaceutical products, scale up agricultural deliveries and implement joint projects on the territory of Iraq.
After the talks, Borisov met with Iraqi President Barham Salih and then with Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. "The talks with the top officials were held in a constructive manner, with key projects, both active and future ones, discussed," the press service stated.