Statement by First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy at UNSC briefing on the situation in Iraq
Mr.President,
We thank Special Representative for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert for her briefing about the situation in Iraq. We listened carefully to Ms. Hanaa Edwar.
We remain concerned over the internal political situation in Iraq that is aggravated by dire socio-economic aspects.
Besides, we cannot fail to notice that attempts by certain external actors seeking to derive benefit from Iraq’s internal contradictions prevent lasting normalization in that country. In this context, we call on the global community to support Baghdad’s efforts aimed at stabilizing the situation, i.a through ensuring legal order and recovering social, financial, and humanitarian sectors. Iraq must not be turned into an arena for regional confrontation and settling personal scores.
Despite the fact that results of early elections to Iraq’s Council of Representatives were endorsed in December last year, and that Chair of the Council was reelected in January 2022, we must say with regret that members of parliament are still unable to form higher authorities. We do hope that parties that got into the parliament will soon agree on a presidential candidate and composition of a new government that should enjoy support of all major political associations, as well as ethnic and confessional groups of the country.
We view positively the resumption of dialogue between federal authorities in Baghdad and the Kurdish autonomous region aimed at resolving disputes, i.a. in oil and gas area, that took place in April this year. We are convinced that further settlement will work towards resolving the existing ethnic and confessional problems, allow engaging the economic potential more effectively and to the benefit of the entire Iraqi nation.
Despite Baghdad’s achievements on the counter-terrorism front, security situation remains volatile, i.a. due to the activity of terrorist underground that has galvanized recently. According to Secretary-General’s latest report, attacks by ISIL terrorists, including suicide bombers, are reported in different provinces of the country. Those attacks further destabilize the already turbulent situation in the area of regional security.
We underscore that this challenge can be effectively opposed only through maximum broad coordination of counter-terrorism efforts. Thereby we proceed from the assumption that all sides who take part in combating terrorism in Iraq must respect the Iraqi sovereignty and coordinate their steps with the country’s official authorities. In this regard, we note the activity of the Baghdad Information Center, which brings together representatives of Russia, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. The Center does the important work of coordinating counter-terrorist steps in the region.
Russia will further assist in improving combat capacity of Iraq’s armed forces, first of all by means of developing bilateral military and technical cooperation – all the more so as Moscow and Baghdad have a long history of close coordination in the area of combating ISIL and other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.
Thank you.
