Iraqi leaders support Russia’s intent to secure the ceasefire in Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday after the visit of Mikhail Bogdanov, Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa, to Baghdad.
“The Iraqi leadership expressed support for Russia’s principled line aimed at securing the ceasefire regime in Syria within the Astana talks as the essential preconditions for the early political settlement of the Syrian crisis on the basis of resolution 2254 of the UN Security Council,” the Foreign Ministry statement read.
During his visit to the Iraqi capital, Bogdanov held a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi and the Chairman of the Council of Representatives of Iraq Salim Jabouri.
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 was unanimously adopted on December 18, 2015. The document calls for a ceasefire and political settlement of the armed conflict in Syria.
The second round of negotiations on the Syrian crisis in Astana took place on February 15-16. The talks resulted in the agreement of the participants to set up a ceasefire monitoring group including Iran, Russia and Turkey, that would report to the United Nations.