Russian Embassy to Baghdad not to cut staff

The Russian Foreign Ministry calls on all Russian workers in Iraq to leave the country because of security reasons, the official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Alexander Yakovenko, told journalists at a briefing today. Neither Russia, nor coalition forces can guarantee the security for those working in Iraq, he emphasized.

365 people were evacuated from Iraq yesterday. Today a Russian plane is to deliver 120 people to Moscow, Yakovenko said. But the Russian Embassy to Baghdad will not evacuate its personnel as they are secure, he stressed.

"Russia is not going to leave Iraq and is interested in bilateral relations. Russian workers are leaving just because of security reasons. When the situation is better, we will return", he added.