Statements clash over Iraq’s Russian arms deal

Iraqi Minister of Defence Saadoun al-Dulaimi denied the cancellation of an arms deal recently signed between the Iraqi and Russian governments. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Media Consultant confirmed the cancellation of the deal immediately after al-Maliki’s return from Russia. Meanwhile, official spokesperson for the government of Iraq Ali al-Dabbagh demanded that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launch an investigation into his conduct in order to clear his name after media reports blamed him for possible corruption in the arms deal. Speaking to Arabstoday, Saadoun al-Dulaimi said that “media reports about the cancellation” of the arms deal are “completely untrue. The weapons are important for equipping the Iraqi army,” taking full responsibility before the Iraqi people over any suspicions of corruption in the deal. Al-Dulaimi said “all voices opposed to equipping the Iraqi security forces, do not want these forces, and the army in particular, to be more powerful than the militias that these voices possess because they have their own laws,” adding that “other parties” which he did not name “wish for the terrorists to be better armed than the army.” He referred to politicians and some satellite channels that he said were trying to blackmail the Ministry of Defence. He said the uproar over the Russian arms deal and the decision to cancel subsidies stables “is merely an election campaign fodder and nothing more and we have seen these methods before from those who like to exploit these situations.” The PM’s Media Consultant Ali al- Moussawi sad the $4 billion arms deal was immediately cancelled after al-Maliki’s return from Moscow after he suspected corruption. “The Prime Minister has decided to launch an investigation into these suspicions. Iraq still needs weapons and negotiations for new contracts are underway,” he said in a statement. Hakem al-Zamli, member of the Security and Defence Committee, told Arabstoday that “Parliament approved in its last session a new negotiating committee different from the one that was sent to Russia previously, which included an MoD officer, Government Spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh and a number of other figures.” Al-Zamli also described the sum involved in the corruption as “tremendously large.” In the same context, al-Dabbagh has demanded that PM Nouri al-Maliki launch an extensive investigation into the Russian arms deal in order to clear al-Dabbagh’s name, which he said was being “unjustly tainted.” Speaking to Arabstoday, al-Dabbagh said “my reputation is at stake because of the Russian arms deal and I have absolutely nothing to do with it as it does not fall within my remit as a spokesman for the government.” Russia had announced earlier the signing of a $4.2 billion arms deal with Iraq, making it the second-biggest arms supplier to the country after the United States. Russian newspaper Vedomosti had reported that the deal includes MiG-29 aircraft as well as 30 Mi-28 assault helicopters and 42 Pantsir-S1 units. Russian President Vladimir Putin had at the start of November dismissed Defence Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov and appointed Governor of Moscow Oblast Sergey Shoygu in his place. The move was aimed at allowing the security authorities to undertake an objective investigation into financial corruption scandals involving a number of ministry officials. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on October visited Russia and the Czech Republic, prompting varying responses from Kurds. The following day, the Kurdistan Alliance expressed its concern over the arms deal signed with Russia and the Czech Republic, requesting clarification of the exact terms of the agreement. The Iraqi government is seeking to equip the Iraqi army with all kinds of weaponry, sources said. It has signed contracts with a number of global advanced-weapons manufacturers, including the US, for the purpose of outfitting the army with armoured vehicles, advanced tanks, helicopters and military aircraft including F-16s. The Office of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Nouri al-Maliki, announced on 13 May 2012 that Iraq will receive the first batch of F-16s in 2014.