Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Dmitry Medvedev: Mr Prime Minister, Mr al-Maliki, let me cordially welcome you to Moscow! I am happy to see you again. I would like to say right away that we in Russia cherish our traditional friendship with the people of Iraq. Despite the dramatic events of the past few years, we have maintained contact at the top and at high levels, and I am certain that this will help to promote friendship, cooperation and mutual understanding between Russia and Iraq. Your current visit is a natural element of this agenda. We met last year, and we have held telephone calls, and so now we can continue our relations; as you said quite rightly, we can discuss a roadmap for the progress of our ties along all vectors, from energy to cultural cooperation.

Let me once again welcome you from the bottom of my heart. I hope this will be an interesting meeting.

Nouri al-Maliki (via interpreter): Thank you very much. I would first of all like to express my sincere gratitude on my own behalf as well as on behalf of our Government and the President for the warm welcome we have been given here. I would like to note right from the start that there is readiness on both sides – I repeat, on both sides – to develop and strengthen our bilateral ties.

In the past, Russian-Iraqi ties were very close and strong, and I am confident that they will remain this way in the future. During my last visit to the Russian Federation, I had an opportunity to meet with you, Mr Medvedev. Last time, we discussed various aspects of our bilateral cooperation, and reached understandings on how to promote and strengthen our ties. Today we have a good opportunity to discuss how these understandings have been implemented and to map the guidelines for the further strengthening and development of our bilateral ties.

I would like to say that Iraq is currently implementing an active policy to improve relations with friendly countries and to expand ties in different areas. This is obvious from the line-up of my delegation, which includes representatives of the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry, the Trade Ministry, the Oil Ministry and the Electricity Ministry. All these spheres are open for expanded cooperation with the Russian Federation.

You have noted correctly that our region is now living through difficult times. There are some well-known complications in the regional situation. I had the pleasure of discussing this issue with you over the telephone. Today, we will continue our conversation on this issue. Obviously, Iraq and the Russian Federation should cooperate in this sphere, the sphere of regional relations, in order to try to find peaceful solutions for the existing crises.

I would also like to say that we, of course, need an appropriate mechanism to promote these relations, so that our relations will develop fruitfully and in a sustained manner. Naturally, I meet with various Russian representatives from ministries, departments and Russian companies operating in Iraq. And these meetings are important because they show the direction of our subsequent relations. But, of course, we have the Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. This, too, is a highly important mechanism, and we must also expand this mechanism and facilitate its work. The Commission must continue its work, and its members must hold regular meetings.

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