Iraq confirms canceling the Russian weapons deal

[alan131210]

Saturday, 10 November 2012 13:21

Shafaq News / The adviser to the Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki confirmed on Saturday the cancellation of arming the Iraqi army deal with Russia because of corruption, confirming that an investigation opened "immediately" on the case.

Ali al-Moussawi told "Shafaq News", that "Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki decided after returning from his visit to Russia to cancel the weapons deal to arm the Iraqi army for the occurrence of corruption suspicion on the deal."

Moussawi stressed that "the prime minister decided also to open an immediate investigation on the case."

Iraq has signed deals to sell weapons worth $ 4.2 billion with Russia during the visit of Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki.

Russian reports stated that the deal included MiG-29 aircraft, 30 attack helicopters, Mi -28 and 42 Pantsir - S 1, which is a missile air system.

[alan131210]

This is well could he bcoz of Exxon Mobil threatening to withdraw from Iraq west qurna field, sorry Iraq Exxon just doesn't not like working with you stop crying and get over it.

[RawandKurdistani]

This should state my opinion:

[kardox]

And now Iraq has asked Gazprom to chose between Iraq and Kurdistan.
Something must be going on beyond "corruption" .


http://www.avestakurd.net/nceyn-rojane/ ... h2535.html

[burnsss]

i think russia is planning selling weapons to peshmerga and milky boy is not happy about it. It didnt take long to cancell that deal and something stinks here.

[alan131210]

Russia will sell you any weapons regardless.

[Roytuna12]

They didnt cancell the deal.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeas ... 14537.html

[purearch72]

Iraq is so confusing

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/russia- ... 15912.html

Apperently the deal was not cancelled, because there was no deal with Iraq to begin with

[alan131210]

UPDATE 3-Iraq scraps $4.2 bln Russian arms deal, cites graft

* Maliki cancels arms deals over suspected corruption

* Acting defence minister denies charges

* Russian deals seen helping Iraq with US pressure

By Suadad al-Salhy

BAGHDAD, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Iraq said on Saturday it had cancelled a $4.2 billion deal to buy military jets, helicopters and missiles from Russia, citing possible corruption in the contract.

In a confusing exchange, the announcement by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office was immediately contradicted by the acting defence minister who denied the corruption charges and said the Russian arms deals were still valid.

The arms agreements were a sensitive issue for Iraq. U.S. military hardware remains key for Iraq's armed forces, but the Russian deal had appeared to open a way for Maliki to push back against U.S. pressure by diversifying his arms suppliers.

The Russian sale was agreed just as Washington warned Maliki, who is close to Shi'ite Iran, to curb Iranian flights ferrying weapons through Iraqi airspace to aid Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his fight against a revolt there.

Maliki's media adviser Ali al-Moussawi said the decision to renegotiate the agreements was taken after the prime minister was informed about possible wrongdoing in the contract.

"Our need for weapons still stands so we will renegotiate new contracts," Moussawi said. "This is a precautionary measure because of suspected corruption."

But acting Defence Minister Sadoon al-Dulaimi, who negotiated with the Russians, dismissed the corruption charges and said the deals would go ahead.

"We have not transferred even one dinar, there was no agent, no contract was signed. These were just technical and financial offers," he told reporters in Baghdad.

Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport declined to comment. Russia's Interfax news agency reported the Russian embassy in Iraq said it had not been informed the deal had been scrapped.

The initial announcement about the deal itself was unusually released in a Russian government document issued to reporters during Maliki's visit to Moscow in October. The document said deals were signed with Iraq's acting defence minister in April, July and August.

Russia's daily Kommersant said the contract envisaged the delivery of surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon systems, MiG-29M/M2 aircraft as well as armoured vehicles and attack helicopters.

NO. 2 IN IRAQ

The deals would have made Russia the second largest military supplier to Iraq after the United States, which has sold Baghdad billions of dollars in arms including F-16 fighters and tanks since the 2003 invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

But the Russian agreements fit into the wider context of Maliki's juggling interests over the war against Syria's Assad. Iran and Russia support Assad, while the rebels fighting him are backed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Western powers.

Maliki relies on the United States for military aid, but also depends on Iranian influence at home to keep control over Shi'ite allies in his fragile cross-sectarian government of Shi'ites, Sunnis and Kurds.

"One should not rule out pressure from the United States, which certainly does not want to let the Iraqi government - a buyer of American arms or arms from suppliers that are U.S. allies - out of its zone of control," said Ivan Konovalov, a military expert in Moscow.

News of the cancellation also came at a time when Russia has been entangled in a series of corruption scandals involving its defence ministry and its space ministry.

On Friday, President Vladimir Putin fired the chief of his military staff, days after sacking the defence minister over a corruption and sleaze scandal. [ID: nL5E8M97F1]

Iraq had been off limits to Russian defence contracts after the U.S.-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein. The Sunni dictator had been one of the biggest customers for Russian arms.

[alan131210]

BAGHDAD — Baghdad cancelled a $4.2 billion arms package with Russia on Saturday citing graft concerns and instead opted for new talks, ending a deal that would have made Moscow Iraq's second-biggest arms supplier.

In a bizarre sequence, however, the acting defence minister who negotiated the deal directly contradicted the prime minister's office, insisting nothing had been cancelled, a position that was swiftly denied by the premier's spokesman.

Officials said negotiations were ongoing for a new arms package.

But a cancellation of the initial deal announced last month is a setback for Moscow's attempts to firm up its slipping foothold in the Middle East and also throws into doubt efforts by Iraq to equip its armed forces.

"The deal was cancelled," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's spokesman Ali Mussawi said.

"When Maliki returned from his trip to Russia, he had some suspicions of corruption, so he decided to review the whole deal... There is an investigation going on, on this."

Mussawi declined to say who specifically was being investigated, or when a final decision was made to stop the deal, announced during a visit by Maliki to Moscow in October.

In a hastily-organised press conference, however, acting Defence Minister Saadun al-Dulaimi insisted no deal had been cancelled, telling reporters: "We are still in negotiations."

Dulaimi said no contracts had been signed, adding: "We did not transfer one dinar, we did not agree in a finalised way. It was only an offer, like any other offer."

Asked about the minister's remarks, Mussawi said simply: "The deal was completely cancelled."

"Now we have started new negotiations (with Moscow) because we want weapons," he said.

"These negotiations will be for different kinds of weapons, more advanced weapons, and will use a different way of contracting," Mussawi added, without giving details.

The Russian embassy in Baghdad was not available for comment but a source in Moscow pinned the blame on Washington.

"Iraq's declaration was forced by the United States, which is trying to avert this agreement's implementation," an unnamed senior official identified as being a member of the Russian military industry told the state RIA Novosti news agency.

Mussawi denied that US pressure played any role.

Had the announced deal, valued at more than $4.2 billion (3.3 billion euros), been finalised and implemented, it would have made Russia Baghdad's biggest arms supplier after the United States.

Russian media said the deliveries covered 30 Mi-28 attack helicopters and 42 Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile systems.

Discussions were also said to be underway for Iraq's eventual acquisition of a large batch of MiG-29 fighters and helicopters, along with heavy weaponry.

The statement announcing the deals said they were secretly discussed as early as April and revisited again in July and August during visits to Russia by Iraqi delegations that included Dulaimi.

The war ripping apart Syria threatens to unseat Moscow's sole unwavering Arab ally, Bashar al-Assad, and has made it all the more crucial for Russia to forge other regional alliances.

Russia also lost an estimated $4 billion in outstanding contracts in the NATO-led Libya offensive that toppled Moamer Kadhafi, a one-time friend of the Kremlin, and Moscow has been since seeking to find a way to compensate.

Iraq, meanwhile, has sought to re-equip an army that, while regarded as a capable counter-insurgency force, lacks the ability to defend the country's borders, airspace or maritime territory, according to officials.

The deal with Russia was seen by diplomats in Baghdad as a way for Iraq to avoid becoming too dependent on American military equipment, and to hold more bargaining power in weapons negotiations with Washington, which remains Baghdad's biggest arms supplier by far.

It was also a short-term measure to boost Iraq's air defence capabilities in the years before a cadre of F-16 fighter jets are delivered by the United States.

"It is not a policy to go to Russia," Deputy National Security Adviser Safa Hussein told AFP in an interview last month. "The backbone of our armaments is from the United States, but whenever it is required that we go with another country, we will go."

AFP

[alan131210]

this is a good read guys



08/11/2012 By KAMARAN QARADAGHI

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s visit to Russia received a lot of attention from the media as well as in diplomatic, military and political circles.

Some have interpreted the visit as Iraq becoming a replacement for Syria, and Maliki stepping into the shoes that used to be filled by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A lot was said about Maliki’s visit and his supposed cooperation with Russia in forming a triangle in the region that includes Syria and Iran. This, some have said, would help Russia regain some of the influence it lost after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

But the main focus has been on the military aspect of Maliki’s visit, especially because it followed a preliminary visit by Iraq’s acting defense minister, Saddun Dulaimi, and an agreement with Russia to buy $4 billion worth of weapons. The deal included helicopter gunships and anti-aircraft missiles.

Following a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Maliki said that some of the weapons were for self-defense and some were to combat terrorism. Nonetheless, the deal Iraq made with Russia is worth much less than other weapon deals it has inked with the United States.

Immediately following the meeting between Maliki and Putin, Victoria Nolan, a spokesperson for the White House, said that Washington and Baghdad had signed $12 billion worth of weapon deals. She stressed that the relations between Iraq and the U.S. are wide and deep. The deal between Moscow and Baghdad was not a cause for concern for the U.S.

While it is obvious that Iraq does not have a problem finding weapons to buy, the question remains why they are buying them from Russia when the consensus is that the quality of American weapons is better.

Since its formation, the Iraqi army has used Russian and Eastern European weapons. It was only during the rule of Saddam Hussein that Western weapons were added to Iraq’s arsenal, such as arms from France and Brazil.

It seems that the officers today, most of whom belonged to the former army, are used to working with Russian weapons. They might have persuaded Maliki to procure Russian weapons. Additionally, some Iraqi government officials find it easier to do business with Russia.

Alongside the weapon deals, there are certainly other business interests that Russia pursues in Iraq and President Putin emphasizes on his end. Foremost of which is strengthening the foothold of Russian oil companies in Iraq. On top of that, Russia hopes to replay its old Soviet role in the fields of agriculture, railway construction and electricity where Russian companies have previous experience in Iraq.

But describing Russia as trying to revive Iraq’s oil industry is a bit of an exaggeration. Russia itself is seeking the help of the West for its own oil sector thanks to a lack of necessary technology. In Russia and Iraq, the advance of the oil sector still relies heavily on advanced Western technology.

Russia sees the business and economic potential in Iraq, especially since its interests in Syria and Libya have been terribly damaged. Russia’s efforts to revive its economic interests in Iraq also indicate that Moscow knows that, sooner or later, the regime of Bashar al-Assad will collapse. Therefore, an analysis of Maliki’s visit with regards to any Iran-Iraq-Syria triangle envisioned by the Kremlin doesn’t make much sense. Russia is bracing itself for the fall of the Syrian regime.

On the other hand, there was a political agenda behind Maliki’s visit to Russia. Perhaps he believes that by building relations with Moscow, he will be able to maintain a balance in Baghdad’s relations with Washington. Tehran may also be able to take advantage of this balance with Moscow in its own dealings with the U.S. But this could be a naïve line of thought.

First and foremost, Russia focuses on its own security and therefore sees no need to stand behind an axis that is headed by Iran for a Shia-Sunni fight. Russia has its own 20 million Sunni Muslims, and borders many Sunni states.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/science/co ... /5394.html

[RawandKurdistani]

They didnt cancell the deal.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeas ... 14537.html

Why the hell should we take news from Aljazeera? It's an arab station, they wan't everything good over their countries.

[purearch72]

Jalal: Hey Tikrit guess what?
Malaki: Umm what?
Jalal: I decided to give myself 1 billion dollar commision on the Russia deal
Malaki: um...

[Roytuna12]

They didnt cancell the deal.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeas ... 14537.html

Why the hell should we take news from Aljazeera? It's an arab station, they wan't everything good over their countries.

Then give me a real source not a Anti-iraq kurdish website.

[RawandKurdistani]

They didnt cancell the deal.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeas ... 14537.html

Why the hell should we take news from Aljazeera? It's an arab station, they wan't everything good over their countries.

Then give me a real source not a Anti-iraq kurdish website.

By me being kurdish, my people have suffered under iraq and 3 other terror states for a century now, so i'll go with kurdish instead of arab websites