Iraq Seeks to Purchase Russian Weapons

Boys wave towards a convoy of US vehicles withdrawing from northern Syria, in Erbil, Iraq October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
Boys wave towards a convoy of US vehicles withdrawing from northern Syria, in Erbil, Iraq October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
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Iraq Seeks to Purchase Russian Weapons

Boys wave towards a convoy of US vehicles withdrawing from northern Syria, in Erbil, Iraq October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari
Boys wave towards a convoy of US vehicles withdrawing from northern Syria, in Erbil, Iraq October 21, 2019. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

Moscow has said it was willing to meet Iraq’s needs for weapons amid an ongoing debate in the country on the post-Trump phase.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in Moscow on Wednesday, his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov said: "We are ready to provide Iraq with any Russian-made military products."

Lavrov stated that the Russian-Iraqi ties don’t rule out being on good terms with the West and neighboring countries.

He deemed the visit of Hussein as a boost to bilateral ties and the region’s security.

Iraqi parties, as well as militias, are engaged in a debate on the way to deal with the delicate transitional phase until President-elect Joe Biden enters the White House in January, and the possibility of US President Donald Trump launching a strike on Iran and its arms in Iraq.

Last week, several missiles hit near the US embassy in the Green Zone and caused division among Iran-backed militias.

In the meantime, Iranian Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani made a secret visit to Baghdad to limit tension and avoid a US retaliation.

Prominent pro-Iran militias such as Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq slammed the party that struck the Green Zone last week, and didn’t claim responsibility for the attack.

Kataib Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Mohi said some parties are trying to grant the US an excuse to attack.

The US shouldn’t be given any opportunity to tamper with the security again, Mohi warned.

MP Muhammad Karim accused the US of lacking seriousness in the recent decision to withdraw from Iraq. He further accused it of forging facts.



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
TT

Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.