Russian efforts to start regular flights to Baghdad

The Russian Ambassador to Iraq Alexander Shayeen announced on Tuesday that Moscow is currently making talks with other countries, who have permanent membership at the UN Security Council so as to reach an appropriate formula to start regular air flights to Baghdad.

Thee Iraqi weekly al-Rafeden quoted the Russian ambassador as saying that his country is careful to resume air flights to Baghdad as soon as possible, as it sees that there is no justification to get the consent of the sanctions committee to organize such flights and that it is enough to notify the committee or to inform it but without waiting for its consent.

He added that the said air flights are in need of the consent of the states neighboring Iraq that the flights have to pass in their airspace, stressing Russia's readiness to start these flights directly when these countries give their consent.

Worthy mentioning the other four countries who are permanent members at the UN Security Council beside Russia are the US, and Britain consider that the UN Security Council resolutions which imposes sanctions on Iraq also state to ban air flights to Baghdad while the other two UN Security council permanent members France and China considered these resolution as do not state banning the flights as far as they do not cover holding trade and financial deals.