Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki had a lot on his mind when he paid a three-day visit to Moscow last week. He had a busy agenda that included high-level negotiations with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian Federation Council (Senate) Speaker Valentina Matvienko and President Vladimir Putin.
Diplomatic protocol did not call for a meeting with Putin, but the fact that the Iraqi politician met with Russia’s head of state points to the unique character of the visit.