PM arrives in Moscow

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in Moscow on Thursday on an official visit to run until April 11 at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, an informed source said. “The Iraqi premier arrived in the Russian capital today (April 9) as part of a tour that also takes him to France and Britain,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. Maliki will start a session of talks on Friday with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin on relations binding Iraq and Russia in all fields. Earlier, Iraqi legislator Sami al-Askari told IraqiNews.com that accompanying the prime minister on his foreign tour is a delegation comprising the ministers of foreign affairs, defense and electricity as well as a delegation from the Iraqi ministry of oil. A Kremlin source said the first visit by Prime Minister Maliki to Moscow ushers in a new chapter of the means to cement friendly and fruitful relations between Russia and Iraq. For his part, a Russian government source said the Putin-Maliki talks on Friday will deal with Russian-Iraqi cooperation in the field of oil and gas as well as the situation in the Middle East region. “The two sides will exchange views on means to further economic and investment cooperation between Russia and Iraq, with special focus on Russian firms’ participation in the electricity and oil & gas fields and other Iraqi economic sectors,” the source told the Russian news agency Novosti. AmR (S) 1