Russia and Iraq back a peaceful solution for Syria without any external intervention, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki. At their recent discussion in Moscow, the two leaders said they will join efforts with the UN-Arab League envoy to attain a peaceful solution in Syria and democracy, security, and stability in the Middle East without foreign military intervention.

Syria's 19-month violence has left its traces everywhere (Photo: SANA)

They added that Russia and Iraq advocate reviving and furthering bilateral multifaceted cooperation with priority given to economic-finance and science-technology. According to Putin, the Russia-Iraq Intergovernmental Committee will hold its next session late this year in Bagdad. Putin was confident that the two countries’ military cooperation will increase as Russian-made weapons area already popular in Iraq. He announced a series of newly signed contracts in military technology worth 4.2 billion USD.