Will Sadr’s victory impact Russia-Iraq relations?
The pragmatism displayed by Iraq's Muqtada al-Sadr indicates that Moscow-Baghdad ties will continue — or even expand — when the new government is formed.
The results of the May 12 parliamentary elections in Iraq are being carefully assessed in Moscow in terms of the impact the results may have on Russia’s relations with Iraq.
The Russian Foreign Ministry praised the elections as a “landmark on the road to stabilization in the country,” adding it hopes that “a new representative, legally competent government will be formed in Iraq in the near future.”
“On our behalf we will be ready to continue granting friendly Iraq effective support in resisting international terrorism and make a specific contribution to the further continuation of versatile Russian-Iraqi cooperation,” the official statement from Moscow read.
At first glance, the Sairoon Alliance of Muqtada al-Sadr, which won a plurality of seats, doesn’t have substantial contacts with Moscow. This, however, doesn’t mean Sairoon’s parties cannot work on building them. What is needed at this point, as seen from Moscow, is to patiently observe the process of formation of the new Iraqi government, where the alliance is encountering some problems. Sadr’s statements on the need to build pragmatic ties with other players on the Iraqi scene indicate that the influential Shiite cleric may maintain a similar approach on the foreign policy front if it forms the next government. If this proves to be the case, there is a good opportunity for Moscow to not only keep its current level of contacts with Baghdad, but develop them further.
