Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sought relief from US sanctions and to expand energy and trade ties with Iraq in a visit to Baghdad this week.
During his two-day trip to Baghdad that began Sunday, Lavrov met with top Iraqi officials including President Abdul Latif Rashid, Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, Parliament Speaker Muhammad Halbousi, and his counterpart Fuad Hussein. He also met with the former prime minister and head of the State of Law Coalition, Nuri al-Maliki. The latter controls a majority of seats within the Coordination Framework, the bloc that nominated the current prime minister and formed the government in alliance with Sunni and Kurdish parties.
