Dmitro Kuleba, the foreign minister for Ukraine, visited Iraq today for the first time since the war began in an effort to secure diplomatic backing.
To put an end to the conflict, Baghdad has demanded a cease-fire and offered to intervene between Ukraine and Russia.
However, Ukraine’s top diplomat stressed that his country would not participate in peace negotiations unless Russia withdrew from its territory. This travel to Iraq is the first by a Ukrainian foreign minister in 11 years.
Baghdad “has experience in communication with countries that have tension between them” and “is ready to be in service of peace,” Iraq’s foreign minister Fuad Hussein said at a joint news conference in Baghdad.
But Mr Kuleba said while Ukraine sees Iraq as “a country that is capable of building bridges”, it was important to note that “Ukraine wants peace and Russia wants war”.