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.



Türkiye Says It Believes Kurdish Fighters Will Be Forced Out of All Syrian Territory

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Says It Believes Kurdish Fighters Will Be Forced Out of All Syrian Territory

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)
Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler takes part in a NATO Defense Ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2023. (Reuters)

Türkiye believes Syria's new rulers, including the Syrian National Army (SNA) armed group which Ankara backs, will drive Kurdish YPG fighters from all territory they occupy in northeastern Syria, Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on Sunday.

Türkiye regards the Syrian YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state for 40 years and are deemed terrorists by Ankara, Washington, and the European Union.

The YPG spearheads an alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is backed by the United States and controls territory in northeastern Syria. Since the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, Türkiye and Syrian groups it backs have fought against the SDF, seizing the city of Manbij.

"We believe that the new leadership in Syria and the Syrian National Army, which is an important part of its army, along with the Syrian people, will free all territories occupied by terrorist organizations," Guler said during a visit to Turkish troops on the Syrian border with military commanders.

"We will also take every necessary measure with the same determination until all terrorist elements beyond our borders are cleared," he said in a video released by his ministry.

Ankara has demanded the Syrian Kurdish fighters disband, and has called on Washington to withdraw its support. The US military acknowledged last week it has 2,000 troops on the ground in Syria, twice as many as it had said previously.

On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye would do "whatever it takes" to ensure its security if Syria's new administration was unable to address its concerns.