Members of the Iraqi parliament said the country was considering the purchase of a Russian air-defense system as the Kremlin moves to step up its presence in the Middle East and drive a wedge between Baghdad and Washington, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Iraqi lawmakers said the government had decided to move forward with negotiations to buy Russian S-400 air-defense missiles in response to concerns the U.S. may pull back its support for Baghdad.
“We are talking to Russia about the S-400 missiles but no contracts have been signed yet,” said Karim Elaiwi, an Iraqi member of parliament who sits on the security and defense committee. “We need to get these missiles, especially after Americans have disappointed us many times by not helping us in getting proper weapons.”
