MOSCOW, August 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has urged Iraq’s divergent political forces to reach a consensus in order to successfully respond to the threat posed by terrorist and extremist groups in the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Information and Press Department said in a statement Friday.
“We support the efforts of the Iraqi authorities to fight terrorists. We urge all Iraqi political forces to reach a consensus and successfully oppose extremist and terrorist movements in Iraq,” the statement said.
The statement also noted that ongoing tensions in the country have raised deep concerns, as more and more areas in north-western Iraq fall under the Islamic State’s (IS) control, with the militants’ carrying out mass repression of the local minorities.
“The violence of the extremists should be decisively condemned. What is happening in Iraq yet again proves that terrorism is pure evil, and in order to fight it, the cooperation and joint efforts of the entire international community is needed,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The Islamic State is a Sunni group that has been fighting in Syria and launched an offensive in Iraq in June. The group has taken over large parts of the country, with the goal of seizing Baghdad. Also in June, the group announced the establishment of a caliphate on the Iraq-Syria border.
Iraqi Kurds have already re-established military cooperation with Baghdad in an effort to drive the IS fighters back. Like Moscow, the United Nations Security Council has called on all Iraqi communities to unite and respond to the threat to Iraq’s future.
