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BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq and Russia discussed prospects for deepening military coordination, Iraq's Defense Ministry said Thursday, amid a strain in Baghdad-Washington relations after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian general inside Iraq.
The ministry statement followed a meeting in Baghdad between Iraqi army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Othman Al-Ghanimi and Russian Ambassador Maksim Maksimov, as well as a newly arrived defense attache.
The meeting comes during an uncertain moment in the future of Iraq-U.S. military relations, following the Jan. 3 U .S. drone strike that killed Iran's most powerful military commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and Iraqi senior militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis near Baghdad airport. The attack prompted powerful Shiite parties to call for an overhaul of the existing strategic set-up between Iraq and the U.S.-led coalition.
Al-Ghanimi praised Moscow's role in the battle against the Islamic State group, saying they had provided “our armed forces with advanced and effective equipment and weapons that had a major role in resolving many battles," according to the ministry statement.
The statement said the sides discussed prospects for “cooperation and coordination.” Both parties emphasized the importance of exchanging information and coordination to prevent the resurgence of IS.
Maksimov extended an invitation to al-Ghanimi to visit Russia and meet with his counterpart “within the framework of strengthening cooperation between the two sides,” the statement said.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow.
A senior Iraqi military intelligence official told The Associated Press that Russia, among other countries, has come forward to offer military support in the wake of fraught US.-Iraq relations following Soleimani's killing.
“Iraq still needs aerial reconnaissance planes. There are countries that have given signals to Iraq to support us or equip us with reconnaissance planes such as Russia and Iran," said the official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.
In response to the drone strike that killed Soleimani, Iraq's Parliament passed a non-binding resolution urging a U.S. troop withdrawal, and then caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi openly called for a troop withdrawal.
Since then, Iraqi leaders have scaled back the saber-rattling rhetoric. But behind closed doors, the bitterness has poisoned the partnership.
Senior Iraqi military officials told AP this week that Iraq told its military not to seek assistance from the U.S.-led coalition in joint operations targeting the Islamic State group and to minimize cooperation. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, acknowledged recently that relations with Iraq were “in a period of turbulence."
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