MOSCOW, January 23 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Minister for Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu and Iraqi Health Minister Umeed Madhat Mubarak met in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss humanitarian aid and radiation security in the situation which can be aptly described as "humanitarian catastrophe in Iraq resulting from the international sanctions against the country.

"The experience accumulated by the Russian ministry for emergency situations in the field of extraordinary humanitarian response can prove to be irreplaceable," said Vyacheslav Vlasenko, head of the Russian ministry's international cooperation department.

Iraq has shown great interest in a number of Russian technologies in the field of medicine of disasters. Russia has mobile hospitals which the ministry has used extensively. Iraqi specialists are also interested in the activity of the Russian national centre for radiation medicine attached to the ministry for emergency situations because radiation security issues and the impact of irradiation on human health is of great concern to Iraq in which some of the regions were affected during the Desert Storm operation in 1991.

"The effects are related to the use of ammunition with depleted uranium and special homing devices which leave radio-active traces," Vlasenko said. This is why the experience amassed by Russian specialists and the Russian technologies in this field can prove very useful in providing assistance to the population of Iraq. Vlasenko noted that no official documents were expected to be signed on the results of the meeting in Moscow which "we regard as one of the phases of preparations for Sergei Shoigu's visit to Iraq scheduled for this year."

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