... systems. Yet it is premature to get to specifics. So as I said before,
if we receive
the request from Iraq, we will work on it.”
It also remains to be seen whether the two sides will cut a deal that entails different regional risks and could invite US sanctions. Besides, implementation would require a stable government in Baghdad. As snap parliamentary elections are possible in Iraq, serious discussions about military and technical cooperation may be postponed until a new government has been formed.
First published in the
Al-Monitor
.
... withdrawal of US troops, the American leadership refused again. Moreover, D. Trump said that if the Iraqis make a final decision, he will “charge them sanctions like they’ve never seen before, ever.” The threat itself is substantial for ordinary Iraqis who survived the destructive sanctions of the United Nations and the United States under Saddam Hussein from 1991 until the American invasion and occupation of the country in 2003. In addition, the threat of Americans strikes a vital element for the functioning of Iraq as a state,...
... issues should be considered.
First and foremost, Iraq would have to pay an immense political cost, as Russian missiles are subject to US sanctions. The contract on the S-400 or even S-300 (both systems are produced by the company Almaz-Antey) may expose Iraq to such sanctions. That said, the threat of sanctions did not prevent China, Turkey or India from buying the weapons.
Russia, in turn, should it sell defense systems to Iraq, may find that maintaining its “special relations” with Israel is challenging.
Second,...
... operate the battle tanks after they had received training from Russian trainers, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta. As Abadi put it, Iraqi-Russian ties “remained substantive and they were not influenced by the US.”
On a regional scale, the anti-Iran sanctions badly dent Iraq’s possible commercial transactions. Starting from early May, the United States will end its six-month sanctions waivers for oil imports that have allowed eight governments to do business with Iran. Although Iraq does not import oil from Iran, it ...
