On Monday, the Iraqi Foreign Minister announced his country's readiness to help for a "ceasefire" that paves the way for "negotiations" between Russia and Ukraine , during the visit of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to Baghdad .

The latter ruled out any mediation before the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.
It is the first visit of a Ukrainian foreign minister to Iraq in 11 years.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein welcomed his Ukrainian counterpart in a joint press conference, describing the visit as "important".

"This visit is important for the future of the relationship between Iraq and Ukraine, and also for the future Iraqi role in helping Ukraine and Russia," he said.

Hussein stressed that his country is ready to "help the two parties reach a cease-fire first, and secondly start talks," within the framework of the contact group of the Arab League, in which Iraq has been participating for a year.

The Iraqi minister said, "We affirm over and over again that we are against war and believe in dialogue and negotiations. But dialogue and negotiations need two parties. When the two parties reach a conviction that it is necessary to start dialogue, Baghdad will be at the service of both parties."

For his part, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister ruled out the success of any mediation initiative at the present time.
"You cannot say that you support peace while trying to conquer more lands, commit more atrocities and destroy villages and towns," Kuleba said, referring to the ongoing Russian offensive in his country since February 2022.

"Whatever Russian officials say, Russia today wants war. It will take time to reach peace efforts," he said.

He stressed that "Russia must accept something very simple: stop the war and withdraw from Ukrainian territory. This will create space for diplomacy," noting that "restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity" is the "cornerstone" of any peace effort.

Ukraine, which enjoys the support of its Western partners for months, has been trying to strengthen its diplomatic relations with countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

In October, Koleba began the first African tour in his country's history, but he cut it off because of the war.