Iraq calls on Russia to break away from sanctions

“Russia will suffer a lot is the sanctions are to continue,” Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz told journalists yesterday. He reminded that from the moment the sanctions had been imposed Russia had incurred the losses at $30bn – the figure is taken from Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov’s letter to the UN Security Council. Mr. Aziz also mentioned that the clause 50 of the UN Charter entitles any member country to unilaterally withdraw from the economic sanctions regime. In his view, the continuation of the sanctions as well as air strikes are “not only anti-Iraqi, but also anti-Russian acts.” Iraq owes Russia nearly $7bn, while Russia has to repay the Paris creditor club about $3.7bn this year, according to Interfax. Iraq would be glad to cover the amount due by oil supplies, but may not because of the sanctions.