MOSCOW, March 20 (Xinhua) — Russia will help Iraq build its defensive capabilities in the fight against Islamic extremism, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said here on Friday.

“Russia, as a friend of Iraq, will do everything necessary to strengthen its defensive capabilities and provide the (Iraqi) armed forces with abilities to counter outer threats,” Rogozin said at a meeting of the Russia-Iraq Intergovernmental Commission.

He said Russia will help Iraq protect the country from terrorism forces, the Islamic State (IS) groups in particular.

“Iraq has been protecting its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity from outside aggression,” the Interfax news agency quoted Rogozin as saying.

Moscow is supporting Iraq’s fight against the IS and will continue to do so in the future, he added.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who took part in the meeting, vowed that his country will do all it can to provide security for Russians in Iraq.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told al-Jaafari during their talks that strengthening the Moscow-Baghdad cooperation in oil and gas, power engineering and military-technical spheres is of “special significance.”

The two sides also agreed to promote joint cooperation projects in all areas and to make concerted efforts to boost regional stability and security.