Baghdad has a contract to buy 30 Mi-28NE attack helicopters from Russia, but the deal involves large commissions and bribes to Iraqi officials and middlemen…
On May 21, 2015 Vladimir Putin met with the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider Al-Abadi. The discussion focussed on bilateral cooperation and international affairs.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, friends, good afternoon. We are very happy to welcome you in Moscow.
Iraq is our old reliable partner in the region. Despite all the difficulties facing the global economy and the complications in the region, our relations are developing quite successfully.
The total trade turnover may not be so great, but in the past two years, it has grown tenfold. We are implementing large joint projects and Russian companies are working in your country. This involves billions of dollars in investment.
We are developing our cooperation both in the civil areas and in military technology. This means we have a broad agenda. We are very happy to see you here. Welcome!
Prime Minister of Iraq HaiderPrime Minister of Iraq (retranslated): Thank you for your invitation, Mr President, and for the warm welcome.
All our meetings have been successful so far, and we discussed the issues you have mentioned.
The relations between Iraq and Russia are strong, based on old traditions, and we strive to develop them in all areas.
As you have correctly said, there are Russian companies that help us in military technology, in personnel training, in the oil industry and in investment. We strive to develop our cooperation in all these areas, including investment, and we try to make it easier for Russian companies to operate in our country.
As you may know, Iraq has been attacked by terrorist groups. Naturally, terrorism is not limited to our country. It has affected our region and the world at large, and your country has also suffered from it. Just as Russia recently marked its victory over Nazism, we hope that very soon we will be celebrating our victory over terrorists.
In Iraq, we are fighting terrorism, ISIS, in several areas. We have managed to get back a large part of our country’s territory. True, ISIS is trying to achieve tactical results: they have entered the city of Ramadi but have captured only a number of areas, not the whole city, because Iraqi troops are present in the west, east and south of the city.
The current Iraqi government is a government of national unity that includes representatives of all political forces and strata of Iraqi society. We are trying to involve all Iraqi people in these processes so we can liberate our country together.
We would like this visit to encourage further support and stronger cooperation in combatting terrorism not only in Iraq, but also in the entire region.
Once again thank you very much for your invitation.”
Source: Kremlin
See related background video: Inside Story – What is behind Iraq’s arms deal with Russia? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8uB0Zrwm8g
See video: Suspected Corruption Halts Arms Deal Between Iraq and Russia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axEeGJIt0r0
See video: Iraq Crisis: Russia Sends Military Aid, Iran Sends 88 Sukhoi Fighter Planes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW0g-paIAp8