I wonder? I wonder whether this has anything to do with Russia's stance on Iraq.
Probably not.
"Russia and Iraq are discussing a total of 67 projects, 17 of them in the oil sector, al-Najem said.
Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammad Mehdi Saleh said Monday that Baghdad hopes to sign a 10-year, $40 billion deal with Russia on cooperation in the oil sector, Prime-Tass reported.
Al-Najem said Iraq bought from Russia a total of $1.2 billion worth of oil equipment under the UN oil-for-food deal.
"There are still large prospects for Russian firms to invest in our gas fields and sell oil equipment under the oil deal," he said."
