Maliki, Lavrov Discuss The Latest Political And Security Situation In Iraq And The Region

Baghdad, Iraq (NINA) - Iraqi Vice President Nuri al-Maliki discussed with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov the latest developments in the political and security situation in Iraq and the region and the progress of bilateral relations and ways to strengthen them. Maliki said on the sidelines of his meeting today with Lavrov that "Iraq looks forward to finding a state of balance in its international relations, and has the desire to establish strong and solid relations with the Russian Federation, especially as we are today on the way of a new phase culminated in a major defeat of the terrorist organizations and launching the process of construction and reconstruction of liberated cities, stressing that there is great interest in cooperation with Russia in various fields, especially in the field of energy, oil, trade, reconstruction and military and technical cooperation. The Vice-President of the Republic pointed out that the region faces serious challenges and the phenomenon of terrorism and the expansion of the criminal activities of extremist groups are is among the most serious challenges, as well as the Arab-Arab dispute and the mutual accusations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia on supporting terrorism and extremist organizations, pointing to the role of both countries (Qatar and Saudi Arabia) and their involvement in the hotbeds tension in the countries of the region. He praised the "positions of the Russian Federation in supporting Iraq and its issues in international forums and in its war against terrorism, calling for activating cooperation between the two countries more to fight terrorism in the region, as the two countries are targets of terrorists and those behind them." For his part, the Russian Foreign Minister expressed his country's continuing cooperation with Iraq, saying that we aim to develop and expand cooperation and partnership, which has its roots for many years, pointing out that Russia seeks to strengthen the efforts of the Iraqi leadership to reconstruct the economy. Lavrov expressed Russia's solidarity with the efforts made by Iraq to stabilize the situation in the country, especially in the field of the elimination the terrorist organizations./ End