On Wednesday night, the Russian Embassy in Iraq was fired on twice, Mikhail Kamynin said. No injuries were reported.
"In connection with the attacks on our [Russian] Embassy in Baghdad, Russia has demanded that Iraqi authorities take immediate steps to reinforce the defenses of the diplomatic mission and to prevent a repetition of such incidents in the future," Kamynin said.
The Russian official said that the U.S. charge d'affaires in Moscow, Daniel Russell, was reminded that in accordance with the United States mandate on its military presence in Iraq, which was approved by the UN Security Council, it was the direct responsibility of the United States to provide security for the diplomatic mission.
"We are demanding from the United States, which is in command of the multinational forces in Iraq, to take immediate measures to protect the Russian Embassy and Russian diplomats from attack," the diplomat said.
Following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the subsequent overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraq sank into sectarian violence. All ongoing international efforts to restore peace and stability to the Middle East country have so far proved futile.
