Iraqi defense minister discusses prospects of military, technical cooperation with Russian officials
MOSCOW. July 29 (Interfax-AVN) - Iraqi Defense Minister Khalid al-Ubaydi, who is visiting Moscow, discussed on Wednesday prospects for the further development of military and technical cooperation with Russia, the Iraqi Defense Ministry posted a statement on its website.
During the talks the Iraqi minister thanked friends of Iraq in Russia for their quick response to the needs of the Iraqi army fighting against terrorism, the document said.
According to the information of the Iraqi Defense Ministry, Head of the Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation Alexander Fomin paid tribute to the many losses the Iraqi army suffered.
Fomin has confirmed Russia's support for the fight of the Iraqi people, the statement said.
The Iraqi defense minister arrived in Russia on Tuesday.
The press office of the Russian Defense Ministry, to which the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation reports, did not comment on the visit of the Iraqi minister.
The Iraqi minister will discuss issues of military and technical cooperation during his visit to Moscow, sources in the Russian structures involved in military and technical cooperation told Interfax-AVN.
It has been reported that due to the difficult situation in Iraq, which is fighting Islamic State formations, Moscow urgently sent to Baghdad Su-25 battle planes, Mi-28NE and Mi-35 helicopters, TOS-1A heavy flame weapons, a Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile, gun systems, Dzhigit portable air defense systems, artillery systems and ammunition for them and BRM-3M and Vepr armored mine lifting vehicles.
Russia will continue military and technical cooperation with Iraq, the Russian president's aide Vladimir Kozhin has said. "These are mostly small arms, armored tank vehicles and aviation equipment," he said. According to Kozhin, the volume of supplies amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars.
