Russian FM confers with Iraqi oil minister

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov held a meeting on Tuesday in Moscow with Iraqi Oil Minister Amer Muhammad Rashid on the possibility of lifting the UN sanctions imposed on Iraq and Russian plans to revive the Iraqi oil industry.

A statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said Ivanov explained to the Iraqi official the Russian proposals submitted to the UN Security Council providing for appointing a new group of UN observers in Iraq and terminating the economic sanctions imposed on it.

The statement added that Ivanov told the Iraqi minister that his country will continue exerting efforts to lift the embargo, which has been imposed on Iraq since 1990.

The Iraqi minister is visiting Moscow to discuss a project for oil exploration at a cost estimated at billions of US dollars with Russia.