Baghdad appreciates Moscow's active support in political, military and humanitarian areas, Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Shafiq Muhsin told Sputnik. "Russia has been supporting Iraq from the very beginning in political, military and humanitarian relations. If something happens in Iraq, we immediately see how [Russian President Vladimir] Putin contacts the prime minister and stands ready to help," Muhsin said. The Iraqi ambassador added that Baghdad was grateful that Moscow backed the 2014 UN Resolution, which called on all member states to suppress the flow of foreign fighters, funding and other support to Islamist extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. Russia and Iraq has been actively cooperating in various areas, including the spheres of military-technical development, oil and investments. Baghdad Expecting Senior Russian Officials to Visit Iraq by End of 2015 Iraqi authorities are expecting Russian Parliament Speaker Sergei Naryshkin and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin to visit the country by the end of 2015. According to Muhsin, Rogozin will take part in the work of the joint Iraqi-Russian commission on trade, economic and scientific-technical cooperation. Rogozin, who oversees Russia's defense and space industry, is a co-chair of the commission. "In addition, we are expecting a visit by Russia's State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin to Baghdad this year," Muhsin said in an interview published on Tuesday. In May, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi said Iraq was seeking to develop cooperative relations with Russia in all areas, including the spheres of military-technical development, oil and investments. In July, Moscow signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation with Baghdad, committing to help Iraq strengthen its military capability in light of current terror threats from the Islamic State jihadist group.
