Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says his country is ready to share intelligence on Daesh with Iran, Russia, and Syria upon their request.
“We have been fighting Daesh for more than a year and we have some important security information that no other country has regarding Daesh,” Abadi said during a press conference at the presidential office in capital Baghdad on Saturday, adding that there are no obstacles preventing Russia, Iran and Syria from arming the Iraqi army against the terrorist group.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iraqi premier said he had the government’s approval to welcome Russia’s air campaign against terrorists inside Iraq.
It is the second time Abadi has welcomed Russians to conduct ant-terror air campaign in Iraq similar to Syria, where they have been engaged in airstrikes on terrorists since Wednesday.
Impressed by what Russia has done to terrorists in Syria, Abadi said Thursday that he was considering Moscow's anti-terror presence in his country as “a possibility”, adding “If we get the offer we will consider it and I would welcome it.”
Russia's response was positive as Ilya Rogachev, a senior foreign ministry official, said that his country would consider launching the strikes if it gets “such a request from the Iraqi government or a Security Council resolution that depends decisively on the will of the Iraq government.”
Meanwhile, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan's regional government, Massoud Barzani, said in statement that “better results” could be achieved in war against Daesh if Russia and the so-called international coalition coordinated their efforts, adding “the Kurdistan region... welcomes Russia if it supports the Peshmerga in the fight against Daesh”.
