Iraq Hopes for Russia to Supply Arms, Ammunition to Fight Against ISIL

Sputnik News

12:37 26.05.2015(updated 13:19 26.05.2015)

Baghdad is hoping for Moscow's aid in delivering ammunition in order to fight against the Islamic State, Iraqi Interior Minister Mohammed Ghabban said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Iraq is in need of training of both its police and military in the fight against ISIL, Ghabban said in an interview with RT television.

"Russia can help us follow these people and supply information, and it can also help Iraq with ammunition and weapons and since we need different types of arms, we cannot depend on only one type of weapon from one particular country."

"I think we can cooperate in a number of areas and Russia can seriously help us," he added.

Earlier in May, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi visited Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders discussed military-technical cooperation and the situation in the Middle East.

Following the meeting, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf said that Iraq had a right to purchase military equipment from Russia for its security needs.

The assistance Iraq currently receives from the United States is not enough to win over ISIL, Iraqi interior minister noted.

"We believe that the United States provides insufficient support to win over IS [Islamic State]."

On May 17, Iraqi security forces retreated from the key city of Ramadi, the capital of ISIL-controlled Anbar province, after days of fighting with the Islamic State.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Sunday that the military's weak would to fight the insurgents contributed to the Islamic State's capture of the city.

Carter added that the US efforts in Iraq were limited to providing the country's ground forces with the equipment, training and encouragement in their will to fight.

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