... working paper was prepared by the Russian International Affairs Council as part of the RIAC’s project on «Conflicts in the Middle East: Tools and Strategies for Settlement». This paper is devoted to analyzing the situation in the oil and gas market in Iraq and Syria, as well as the energy policy of Russia in the Arab Mashreq region. The authors also analyze Iraq’s oil prospects in the post-war period under sanctions against Iran. Special attention is paid to the Kurdish factor and the role the Kurds play in the future of energy in the region, ...
... officials, including Patrushev.
“The cooperation between the security councils and structures of [Russia and Iraq] indisputably serves their common interests,” Patrushev
said
after the talks.
Ruslan Mamedov:
After the Caliphate: The Prospects of Russia–Iraq Relations
Military-technical cooperation between Moscow and Baghdad is on the rise, as seen by the increase in Iraq's purchases of Russian aircraft and tanks. Relations expanded rapidly after 2014, when the implementation of previously signed contracts ...
... previously traditionally dominant player in the region – the United States. Another multilateral tool, which helped Russia in the region, was the intelligence-sharing Baghdad Information Center, which included representatives of the special services from Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria. In 2019, there were four key policy areas for Russia in Syria:
the involvement of regional and European states in the discussions of refugee return and reconstruction (for example, Russia welcomed the establishing of a Istanbul format ...
... Strategic Research (SAM) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Middle East Technical University (Turkey), American University of Beirut (Lebanon), Damascus Center for Research and Studies (Syria), Al-Rafidain Center For Dialogue (Iraq), Al-Quds University (Palestine), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia, and other. The Russian side was represented by experts from RIAC, RAS Institute of Oriental Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics, MGIMO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign ...
... representatives of
Al-Rafidain Center for Dialogue
(Najaf, Iraq) headed by Farhad Alaeddin.
RIAC guests got to know about current and completed projects of the Council on the Middle East vector. RIAC and Al-Rafidain Center discussed the current state of Russia-Iraq relations, the role of Russia and Iraq in security in the Middle East, as well as the impact of escalation in the US-Iran relations on regional affairs. The parties outlined further plans for interaction at the institutional level and agreed to develop ...
... to Iraq. At the same time, commanders of Iraq’s armored divisions
confirmed the readiness
of military personnel to operate the battle tanks after they had received training from Russian trainers, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta. As Abadi put it, Iraqi-Russian ties “remained substantive and they were not influenced by the US.”
On a regional scale, the anti-Iran sanctions badly dent Iraq’s possible commercial transactions. Starting from early May, the United States will end its six-month sanctions ...
... Here it should be noted that although the Iraqi Constitution provides for the existence of an upper house of parliament, one has not been formed.
By the end of the year, a number of cultural events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the bilateral Russia-Iraq relations are supposed to take place. In terms of education programs, 4,000 Iraqis study in Russian universities and more than 100 diplomats have taken special training at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry. In general, Hakim’s ...
Working Paper #46 / 2019
This working paper looks into the complex issue of Russia–Iraq relations. It provides a detailed analysis of the foundations of the bilateral ties between the two countries, Russia’s approach to the Kurdish issue, and the future of cooperation between Russia and Iraq now that both countries have completed ...
On January 19–20, 2019, Baghdad hosted a conference “Iraq and its Neighbors - Challenges and Opportunities for New Regional Stability” under the patronage of Ayatollah Sayyid Hussein Al-Sadr and Adil Abdul-Mahdi, Iraqi Prime Minister. The event was organized by Baghdad International Center for Research ...
... tradition of having mutually rewarding relations with Iraq, which were severely affected by the regime change in 2003 but returned to active engagement soon after. This is particularly evident from the arm sales and Russian energy companies’ presence in Iraq.
Russia has recently shown an increasing interest in Iraq and the wider the Middle East. Iraqis, in return, have welcomed Russia’s constructive engagement in Iraq’s post-war reconstruction and future economic recovery. Clearly, Russia’s good relations ...
