The Iraqi Parliament has not requested Russia's help with regard to launching airstrikes against ISIS, Russian Ambassador to Iraq Ilya Morgunov said. On September 30, Russia launched pinpoint airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad. Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said earlier that Baghdad had not requested similar assistance so far. Russia and Iraq, alongside Iran and Syria, created the Baghdad Information Center to coordinate military actions against the ISIS extremist group in late September. "No, this is an initiative by one of the parliament's factions. This topic has not been discussed through diplomatic channels and there have been no requests to the Russian side on this, nor consultations have been held concerning this issue," Morgunov told RIA Novosti in an interview. Last week, an Iraqi lawmaker from the Shiite coalition told Sputnik that the country's parliament may begin discussions to request Russia's help in providing military aid in the fight against the Islamic State.
