Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Ali Al-Hakim to pay a visit to Russia

Iraq's new foreign minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim will travel to Moscow on Jan 30 to meet with Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov.

"The visit is very important, because this is the first visit of the minister in his post. I believe that this is a clear message to Moscow on Russia's importance. The Russian side also attaches great importance to the visit," Iraqi ambassador to Moscow, Haidar Mansour Hadi, said during his visit to Russia's state-own news agency Rossiya Segodnya.

"At the talks scheduled for Jan 30, Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and his Iraqi counterpart will discuss key issues on the global and regional agenda, with an emphasis on the situation around Syria and Iran", said Maria Zakharova, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson.