MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russian and Iraqi air authorities have agreed to begin direct flights between the two countries, according to minutes taken in negotiations between the countries' delegations.
The minutes were published by Russia's civil aviation watchdog, Rosaviatsia, on Wednesday.
The two countries agreed on seven flights per week in both directions between Moscow and Baghdad, as well as between Moscow and Basrah, the agreement signed in Moscow on May 27 said.
The agreement was signed a week after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi said that Baghdad intended to develop cooperative relations with Russia in all spheres.
Following the deterioration of Russia's relations with the West over Ukraine in 2014, Moscow began increasing cooperation with its Middle Eastern partners.
