Russia ready to assist Iraq in eliminating terrorists, says top diplomat

Moscow is interested in actively assisting Baghdad in eliminating the terrorist presence in Iraq, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Mohamed Ali Alhakim on Wednesday.

"We are pleased to note that the situation in Iraq has improved after most of the ISIL [the former name of the Islamic State terror group outlawed in Russia - TASS] forces were defeated, though the task of eliminating the terrorist threat has not been accomplished in some parts of your country yet, so we are interested in actively assisting you in the matter," the Russian top diplomat stressed.

Lavrov also pointed out that he would like to know the Iraqi foreign minister’s view of "the current developments in Iraq, Syria and other countries of the region as far as the fight against terrorism is concerned."