Iraq's foreign minister arrived in Moscow Sunday for meetings expected to focus on rebuilding Iraqi-Russian ties. Hoshyar Zebari meets with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and other officials on the visit, which runs through Monday. "We expect Zebari's upcoming visit to add new impetus to the development of traditionally friendly Russian-Iraqi relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement Saturday. "Moscow and Baghdad have historical relations," Zebari was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency upon his arrival in Moscow. "We would like to listen to the Russian assessment of the situation in Iraq." He also said that Iraq is interested in cooperation with Russia in the energy sphere and the restoration of Iraq's infrastructure and industries, according to the report.
