Former Iraqi Defense Minister on contracts with Russia
Iraqi network resources report that former Iraqi Defense Minister Lieutenant General Abdul Qadir Mohammed Jassim Obeid Al-Mifarji (Abdul Qadir Mohammed Jassim Obeidi al-Mifarji), who held this post in the government of Nuri Al-Maliki from June 2006 to December 2010, 19 February 2013 interviewed Iraqi television, including the recent Iraqi contracts for the purchase of Russian weapons (a statement of the interview in Arabic is, for example, here). As can be judged, Kadir Obeidi was at the forefront of negotiations on the purchase of a large batch of Russian weapons for the new armed forces of Iraq.
The current Minister of Defense of Iraq, Saadoun al-Dilami (Saadoun al-Dulaimi, has been in office since August 2011) with the model of the combat vehicle of the Russian Panzir-S1 anti-aircraft missile system
On the issue of military-technical cooperation with Russia, former Iraqi Defense Minister Kadir Obeidi said the following:
Weapons contracts with Russia are part of the second phase of the Iraqi three-stage weapons program, designed until 2020 and assuming Iraq to achieve “full defense capability”.
Iraq made a comparative evaluation of the Boeing AH-64D, Eurocopter Tiger and Mi-28 combat helicopters, and as a result chose the Mi-28 [Mi-28NE] as an army combat helicopter aviation.
Iraq will not purchase any Tanks “of eastern origin”, as they are, in the words of the former Iraqi Minister of Defense, “track bombs”. In the future, only Western-made tanks will be purchased (the possibility of obtaining additional M1A1 Abrams tanks from the presence of the American army under the EDA program is being considered).
Kadir Obeidi said that "the armament program of Iraq will continue, and politicians who are trying to foil a deal with Russia will not succeed."
Kadir Obeidi also said that Iraq had turned to Russia with a request for the urgent acquisition of fighters, and that the parties had agreed to make an emergency delivery to Iraq of eight ready-made fighters in June 2013 of the year. According to Iraqi observers, it may be that Iraq is acquiring eight MiG-29M fighters from a frozen Syrian order.
According to the statement of the former minister, in negotiations with Russia on the issue of arms procurement, the Iraqi side put forward seven main points of the equipment list, in the acquisition of which it was interested. These are the Pantsir-C1 and Tor-M2E air defense complexes, infantry fighting vehicles BMP-3, Su-30МК2 and MiG-29М / М2 fighters, Mi-17В-5 and Мi-28Е helicopters. The first package of contracts was concluded in the amount of 4,5 billion dollars.
Kadir Obeidi also noted that "due to political uproar and unnecessary cries in the Iraqi parliament, which almost discredited the deal [with Russia], in the future military contracts will not be publicly announced by the government to avoid delays and difficulties in international relations ".
The current Minister of Defense of Iraq, Saadoun al-Dilami (Saadoun al-Dulaimi, has been in office since August 2011) with the model of the combat vehicle of the Russian Panzir-S1 anti-aircraft missile system
On the issue of military-technical cooperation with Russia, former Iraqi Defense Minister Kadir Obeidi said the following:
Weapons contracts with Russia are part of the second phase of the Iraqi three-stage weapons program, designed until 2020 and assuming Iraq to achieve “full defense capability”.
Iraq made a comparative evaluation of the Boeing AH-64D, Eurocopter Tiger and Mi-28 combat helicopters, and as a result chose the Mi-28 [Mi-28NE] as an army combat helicopter aviation.
Iraq will not purchase any Tanks “of eastern origin”, as they are, in the words of the former Iraqi Minister of Defense, “track bombs”. In the future, only Western-made tanks will be purchased (the possibility of obtaining additional M1A1 Abrams tanks from the presence of the American army under the EDA program is being considered).
Kadir Obeidi said that "the armament program of Iraq will continue, and politicians who are trying to foil a deal with Russia will not succeed."
Kadir Obeidi also said that Iraq had turned to Russia with a request for the urgent acquisition of fighters, and that the parties had agreed to make an emergency delivery to Iraq of eight ready-made fighters in June 2013 of the year. According to Iraqi observers, it may be that Iraq is acquiring eight MiG-29M fighters from a frozen Syrian order.
According to the statement of the former minister, in negotiations with Russia on the issue of arms procurement, the Iraqi side put forward seven main points of the equipment list, in the acquisition of which it was interested. These are the Pantsir-C1 and Tor-M2E air defense complexes, infantry fighting vehicles BMP-3, Su-30МК2 and MiG-29М / М2 fighters, Mi-17В-5 and Мi-28Е helicopters. The first package of contracts was concluded in the amount of 4,5 billion dollars.
Kadir Obeidi also noted that "due to political uproar and unnecessary cries in the Iraqi parliament, which almost discredited the deal [with Russia], in the future military contracts will not be publicly announced by the government to avoid delays and difficulties in international relations ".
Information