.Iraq's Maliki to make first Russia visit
BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is to make his first visit to Moscow for talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, a foreign ministry official said on Sunday.
He will "probably travel to Russia in the first half of April" in response to an invitation made last October, foreign ministry undersecretary Abdel Karim Hashem told AFP.
In January, Maliki called on Russian oil companies to invest in Iraq as it prepares to open up its oil wealth to foreign firms.
"The presence of Russian companies in Iraq is very important, and we call on these companies to work and participate in construction projects and reconstruction," he said.
"The Iraqi government will provide protection and necessary facilities for the work of Russian companies in Iraq, especially oil companies."
At the end of last year, Iraq announced the launch of a new international tender for the development of 11 oil and gas fields in a bid to ramp up the nation's lagging oil production.
Putin has said Russia wants a role for its companies in a contract for the exploration of the Qurna oilfield and the rebuilding of an Iraqi pipeline crossing Syria to the Mediterranean.
Maliki will become the second Iraqi premier to visit Russia since the US-led invasion of 2003 that Moscow opposed. Iyad Allawi travelled to Moscow as prime minister in December 2004.
France and Germany, which also opposed the invasion that overthrew dictator president Saddam Hussein, have also adopted a warmer approach to Iraq in recent weeks.
Sarkozy flew in to Baghdad on February 10, in a first visit ever to Iraq for a French president, followed a week later by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
AFP
He will "probably travel to Russia in the first half of April" in response to an invitation made last October, foreign ministry undersecretary Abdel Karim Hashem told AFP.
In January, Maliki called on Russian oil companies to invest in Iraq as it prepares to open up its oil wealth to foreign firms.
"The presence of Russian companies in Iraq is very important, and we call on these companies to work and participate in construction projects and reconstruction," he said.
"The Iraqi government will provide protection and necessary facilities for the work of Russian companies in Iraq, especially oil companies."
At the end of last year, Iraq announced the launch of a new international tender for the development of 11 oil and gas fields in a bid to ramp up the nation's lagging oil production.
Putin has said Russia wants a role for its companies in a contract for the exploration of the Qurna oilfield and the rebuilding of an Iraqi pipeline crossing Syria to the Mediterranean.
Maliki will become the second Iraqi premier to visit Russia since the US-led invasion of 2003 that Moscow opposed. Iyad Allawi travelled to Moscow as prime minister in December 2004.
France and Germany, which also opposed the invasion that overthrew dictator president Saddam Hussein, have also adopted a warmer approach to Iraq in recent weeks.
Sarkozy flew in to Baghdad on February 10, in a first visit ever to Iraq for a French president, followed a week later by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
AFP
posted by madtom at 12:02 PM
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