Moscow Calls on All Parties in Iraq to Take Responsible Approach, Renounce Violence

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2022) Moscow calls on all conflicting parties in Iraq to take responsible a approach and renounce violence, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

On Monday, aftre Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's announcement of his final retirement from politics, violent clashes erupted between followers of al-Sadr and Iraqi security forces, leaving 20 people dead and over 700, including 110 security officers, injured, according to media reports.

"We call on all Iraqi parties to take a responsible approach and renounce violence. We proceed from the fact that all acute issues on the national agenda should be resolved by the Iraqis themselves exclusively within the legal field, based on the legitimate interests of all ethnic and religious groups of the country's population," Zakharova said in a statement.