The former Iraqi Prime Minister and current Vice President Nouri al-Maliki met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Monday, to discuss Russia’s involvement in ensuring security in the Middle East.
SOT, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (Russian): “We stand by the efforts of the leadership of Iraq is making to normalise the situation in the country. First of all, to eradicate the terrorist threat.”
SOT, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (Russian): “During these difficult times the Russian Federation is trying to strengthen the efforts of the Iraqi leadership to restore the country’s economy and increase the security forces’ fighting capacity. Our companies have begun to cooperate more closely with their Iraqi partners and develop our military-technical cooperation, which helps our efforts to fight extremists.”
SOT, Vice President of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki (Arabic): “We thank you for the role that Russia plays in Iraq and the region. [We] place great hope in this role, including the need to preserve security in the region in its current state.”
SOT, Vice President of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki (Arabic): “We are grateful for the position of Russia on all of these issues. I have met you before, Mr. Minister. In particular, in Baghdad. Then, I asked Russia to play a role in the preservation of Syria in its current configuration, not to allow the disintegration of Syria, because its disintegration would mean the disintegration of the entire region.”